by Johann Georg Kohl (Author)

A German traveller's perception of Pre-famine Ireland, with explanatory notes and index added to the original text. This is a snapshot of an Ireland that was about to vanish. Two years after the publication of this book, the Great Irish Famine ravaged the land, hastening the end of Gaelic Ireland and the Irish language. Kohl's journey took him through the four provinces and the cities of Dublin, Limerick, Waterford and Belfast. He encountered such men as Daniel O'Connell and the great temperance campaigner, Father Mathew. He talked to beggars in their huts, gentry in their countryseats and men of religion. He visited monastic relics, archaeological sites, linen factories steeple-chasing, and a range of diverse places, always reminding the readers of the poverty of the ordinary people, social injustices and the wretched conditions in the country. His commentaries are enlivened with information about the historic context and folklore associated with the locations he visited.