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PUBLISHED WORKS
BOOKS
THE IRISH PUB, Turtle Bunbury & James Fennell (Thames & Hudson, 2008)
'The Irish Pub' is due to be launched by Thames & Hudson in September 2008. The book looks at 38 of Ireland's finest traditional bars, photographed during extensive tours of the country over the summer and autumn of 2007. Further thoughts on the book and the present state of the Irish pub industry can be found through HERE. Anyone interested in becoming a Patron should contact Turtle directly through this website.
VANISHING IRELAND,
Turtle Bunbury and James Fennell (Hodder Headline, 2006)
Vanishing Ireland' was a massive Christmas hit with all 10,000
copies of the first print run selling out less than eight weeks after its
launch. By May 2008, it had sold over 22,000 copies. A second volume
and a documentary based on the book are in the pipeline for Summer 2007.
The book, written with photographer James Fennell, charted at No. 8 on Ireland's
Hardback Non-Fiction Bestseller List in October 2006 and had reached No.
6 by April 4th 2007. The book was nominated for the prestiogious Easons
Irish Published Book of the Year Award. Sales were consistently boosted
by extremely positive reviews and media coverage, including Today with Pat
Kenny, Nationwide, Ireland AM, The Irish Times Magazine, The Field, The
Examiner Magazine, the Sunday Independent, The Sean Moncreiff Show,
Soiscéal Pháraic, Cara and The White Book. The
book was also serialized in The Dubliner throughout 2007.
Available in bookshops nationwide, the book features over 150 hypnotic portrait photographs and interviews with over sixty men and women from across Ireland, providing an invaluable, humorous and often poignant chronicle of a rapidly disappearing world. This beautiful hardback book combines insightful interviews and over 150 stunning portrait photographs to capture the lives and thoughts of sixty characters of senior vintage from all over Ireland. Blacksmiths, saddlers, farmers, fishermen and horse dealers unite with housemaids, lacemakers, publicans, postmen and musicians to bring to life a world which is already fading fast.
Amongst the many stories told in Vanishing Ireland, a 104 year old farmer from Carlow remembers life during the First World War and a 103-year-old farmer from East Clare recalls an encounter with the Black and Tans. A Dublin housekeeper remembers tea with the executed patriot Kevin Barry. A cattle farmer from Carlow reconsiders the Spanish Flu which killed his mother in 1919. A piper recounts the brutal reality of the Belfast Pogroms. Two fiddlers and a drummer relive the glory days of the Tulla Ceili Band. A coalminer reveals the true horror of life down in the mines of Castlecomer. A postman from Achill recalls the island of his youth. Two fishermen from Belmullet remember the big storm of 1927 that killed their brothers and twenty seven others. A fruit seller from Galway juggles riddles in the air and orders two more pints when your back is turned.
At once amusing and poignant, this deeply engaging and important book is
a must for anyone who secretly mourns the Ireland of the past. It reminds
of a country so much more friendly and relaxed before the economic boom
arrived of the 1990s. Vanishing Ireland is a vital chronicle of a
rapidly disappearing world.
ISBN: 034092277X
€29.99 RRP Hardback
LIVING
IN SRI LANKA by Turtle Bunbury and James Fennell (Thames & Hudson,
2006)
Over 5000 editions of this stunning interiors book sold
before Christmas 2006. The book was greeted with widespread acclaim upon
its publication in March. Elle Decoration voted it one of their three
"Hot Summer Reads". The Financial Times proclaimed it "a
sumptuous portrait of an unforgettable architectural landscape" and
devoted an entire page in pink to the book. The Australian applauded
"page after glorious page of airy villas with colonnades". Elle
Decoration proclaimed it the Hot Summer Read. In Style likewise
declared it "The Hot Read". The Essential KB acclaimed
it as Book of the Month.
Living in Sri Lanka takes a close look at 26 villas, houses, island
retreats and exceptional hotels on the gorgeous island of Sri Lanka. James
Fennell's magnificent photographs captures a world that masterfully combines
the best architectural innovations of English, Dutch and Portuguese colonialism
with both the practical and cultural influences of Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.
The new book received widespread attention for its positive portrayal of
post-tsunami Sri Lanka.
Amongst those who gave it a positive review were The Scotsman, The Independent,
The Sunday Express, Homes Worldwide, House & Garden, The Irish Times,
International Homes Magazine, Image Interiors and The White Book.
ISBN: 0500-51287-6
€39.99 RRP Hardback
To order this book, contact James
Fennell directly.
THE
LANDED GENTRY & ARISTOCRACY OF COUNTY WICKLOW by Turtle Bunbury
(Irish Family Names, 2005)
The latest volume in IFN's "Landed Gentry & Aristocracy of Ireland"
series is also its best. A handsome, beautifully illustrated and thoughtfully
designed hardback, the book details the history of nine of the most prominent
families in County Wicklow during the hey-day of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy
of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Turtle Bunbury brings the readers on a journey into the past, tracking each
family as far back as he can possibly go, and then bringing them right up
to date. Thus the Brabazon family, Earls of Meath, begin with a Belgian
mercenary at the battle of Hastings in 1066 and gallop through the centuries
to the 21st century. The Earls of Wicklow astonish British society by their
continuing dalliance with the Catholic faith. The Wingfields of Powerscourt
build arguably the most impressive Palladian mansion in Ireland and sire
the mother of Sarah, Duchess of York. The Tighes of Rossanagh join hands
with the Brontes and Percy Bysshe Shelly but run foul of Jonathan Swift.
The Barton family of Glendalough establish vineyards in France and give
birth to Erskine Childers, the brilliant writer who became de Valera's Minister
of Propaganda during the Irish Civil War and whose son, also Erskine, was
President of Ireland. General Dennis of Fortgranite commands the artillery
at El Alamein while Captain William Hume of Humewood plays a vital role
in the daring escape of the 1798 rebel, Michael O'Dwyer.
"Deeply peculiar, quietly amusing and written with great style"
was the verdict of The Dubliner. It was also singled out for special
recommendation by Eason's Bookshops following a series of glowing reviews
from customers.
ISBN: 0953848574
€39.99 RRP Hardback
To order this book, contact Irish
Family Names or Turtle
Bunbury directly.
Other books in this series currently available in the "Landed Gentry
& Aristocracy of Ireland" are Kildare, Meath, Kilkenny, Wexford
and Tipperary. See www.irishbooks.org
for more details.
THE
LANDED GENTRY & ARISTOCRACY OF COUNTY KILDARE by Turtle Bunbury
(Irish Family Names, 2005)
Turtle Bunbury's debut book was launched in Castletown House, Celbridge,
Co. Kildare, by the Hon. Desmond Guinness, former President of the Irish
Georgian Society.
The book offers a unique and lively historical insight into eighteen of
County Kildare's most influential "big house" families. The book
features fifty illustrations and covers more than a thousand years of Irish
history.
The families profiled are those of Aylmer, Barton, de Burgh, Clements, Conolly,
Guinness, Henry, Fennell, FitzGerald, Latten, La Touche, Mansfield, Maunsell,
Medlicott, More O'Ferrall, Moore, de Robeck, and Wolfe.
The story of these often eccentric dynasties is set against the backdrop
of the past - the violent religious wars of the 17th century, the rise of
the British Empire in the 18th and the run up to Irish independence in 1921.
Amongst the many anecdotes relayed are the tales of "French Tom"
Barton and the vineyards of France, the bizarre death of Viscount Drogheda,
the innkeepers son William Conolly who became the richest man in Ireland,
Admiral de Robeck of Gowran Grange, Punchestown, who led the Dardanelles
campaign, the Duke of Leinster's romance with Wallis Simpson, the medieval
ape who saved the Earl of Kildare's life, the Celbridge connection to the
Salem Witch Trials and the remarkable terrier who journeyed from Forenaghts
to Bristol in 1798.
ISBN: 0952478536
€39.99 RRP Hardback
To order this book, contact Irish
Family Names or Turtle
Bunbury directly.
Other books in this series currently available in the "Landed Gentry
& Aristocracy of Ireland" are Kildare, Meath, Kilkenny, Wexford
and Tipperary. See www.irishbooks.org
for more details.
Book Titles
Vanishing Ireland
- The award-nominated bestseller from Fennell and Bunbury charts the lives of
sixty old timers from across Ireland.
Living in Sri Lanka
- Published by Thames & Hudson in the Spring
2006, this highly acclaimed interiors book focuses on 26 exotic Sri Lankan villas
with stunning photographs by James Fennell.
The Landed Gentry & Aristocracy of Co. Wicklow
- The second book in the Irish Family Names series provides
an in-depth look at nine extraordinary families. A timely and beautifully illustrated
insight into the fading world of the Ascendancy.
The Landed Gentry & Aristocracy of Co. Kildare
- Turtle's debut book explores the lives of eighteen
of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy families who ruled over the horse country of Co.
Kildare during the hey day of the British Empire.