Irish Follies and Whimsical Architecture

(Hardback)

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Description

Join photographer George Munday on a tour around the eccentric, beautiful, bizarre and eye-catching follies that decorate our island.

Ireland possesses a wealth of follies picturesque buildings erected to commemorate loved ones, to enhance a view, to tell a tale from the past or simply on the whim of their wealthy owners.

Discover the Jealous Wall at Belvedere, County Westmeath, erected by Robert Rochfort to block his brothers house from view, and Conollys Folly in Castletown, County Kildare, built to provide work during famine.Visit Irelands only inland lighthouse, at Lough Corrib, the delightful Shell House at Ballymaloe, County Cork, and a former ice-cream parlour in Roscommon with harp-shaped windows, among many others.

Photographer George Mundays breathtaking images are accompanied by the intriguing stories behind the construction of these wonderful oddities that dot our landscape.

Reviews

captivating

One of the joys of the leisurely tour is going on the road less travelled: this book is an inspiration to do that, no matter where you are in Ireland

George Munday sounds like he could be a country squire responsible for some of the wacky, oddly beautiful buildings in Irish Follies and Whimsical Architecture (OBrien). In reality, he is an experienced photojournalist who, through words and images, takes the reader on a magical mystery tour back into a vanished Ireland. Some of it looks like Alice in Wonderland come to life

There's no denying that we have a uniquely Irish approach to buildings and architecture that can often leave us scratching our heads. This photo book is a celebration of the more eccentric, beautiful, bizarre and eye-catching follies

If you love buildings and architecture and photography well, youre going to like this filled with stunning photos of follies all around the country

Author Bio

George Munday began his career as a photojournalist on a large local newspaper in the English Midlands. He relocated to Ireland in 1979 to join Slidefile,a commercial photography studio. Ten years later, the business had grown into the largest stock-photo agency in Ireland with syndication deals and clients around the world.He later established the Irish Image Collection, a niche photo agency based on the Copper Coast in County Waterford. His first book, Flights of Fantasy, was published by World of Creative Dreams in 2020.