Lush and green, the beauty of Ireland's landscape is legendary. "The Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape" has harnessed the expertise of dozens of specialists to produce an exciting and pioneering study which aims to increase understanding and appreciation for the landscape as an important element of Irish national heritage, and to provide a much needed basis for an understanding of landscape conservation and planning. Essentially cartographic in approach, the Atlas is supplemented by diagrams, photographs, paintings, and explanatory text. Regional case studies, covering the whole of Ireland from north to south, are included, along with historical background. The impact of human civilization upon Ireland's geography and environment is well documented, and the contributors to the Atlas deal with contemporary changes in the landscape resulting from developments in Irish agriculture, forestry, bog exploitation, tourism, housing, urban expansion, and other forces. "The Atlas of the Rural Irish Landscape" is a book which aims to educate and inform the general reader and student about the relationship between human activity and the landscape. It is a richly illustrated, beautifully written, and immensely authoritative work that will be the guide to Ireland's geography for many years to come.

This book looks at Ireland's problems from geographic and environmental perspectives, placing them within their regional, national, and international context. It is invaluable to students, decision-makers, and all those interested in the current situation in Ireland and its future.

Not since the 19th century has the future of the countryside been such a focus of political and public attention, nor of profound uncertainty and anguished debate. A watershed has now been reached, and in this time of unprecedented change, new tools are needed for planning and managing the countryside. Increasingly the 'drivers' of countryside management and conservation are European and international. They aim to provide comprehensive new frameworks for the whole countryside, and encourage community-driven planning and protection. There have been numerous responses at the country and local levels within the UK. In this book, a broad range of scholars and practitioners review the international drivers affecting countryside policy and practice, and - through a variety of case studies - they assess the value of country and local responses. The result is a powerful and coherent volume that provides a fully up-to-date review and analysis of the pressures on the countryside, the policies for the future and the keys to successful implementation. Countryside Planning is essential reading for planners, local authorities and rural organizations, conservationists and environmental groups, as well as academics and students in planning, rural studies, environmental studies and geography.

"The Hook Peninsula continues the Irish Rural Landscape series, building on the research agenda established by the internationally successful Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape. Located in county Wexford, this region was the first to be conquered by the Anglo-Normans and its landscape was shaped by the establishment of two Cistercian abbeys (Tintern and Dunbrody) in the Middle Ages. The location of the peninsula beside a major estuary and busy shipping lanes was of vital importance. The Hook figured prominently in the Confederate Wars in the seventeenth century and in the 1798 rebellion." "This compact and highly distinctive peninsula makes for a compelling case-study in which Billy Colfer carefully knits the local story into a wider narrative. An eye for detail and an intuitive understanding of his local community creates a vivid story, while Colfer's obvious love for the Hook infuses the volume with an underlying passion all the more moving for being understated. Ireland, 'an island nation', has at last a volume informed by a maritime perspective from a writer who understands the sea and its formative influence on landscapes and lives. In these beautiful pages, an astonishing array of maps, photographs, paintings, archive sketches and new drawings ensure that the Hook landscape is given a radiant treatment."--BOOK JACKET.

The book is also concerned with the future of this protected cultural landscape and recommends actions to ensure its' preservation."--Cover.