DE COURCY IRELAND, John. Ireland and the Irish in Maritime History. With four maps.

Dublin: Glendale Press, 1986. Demy octavo. pp. xiv, 449. Dark grey paper boards, title in gilt on spine. A near fine copy in dust jacket. Very scarce.
This work offers the first sustained account of Ireland’s influence on global maritime history, arguing that the sea, often overlooked in historical narratives, has been central to human development and that Ireland’s contribution has been both distinctive and far-reaching. From the earliest settlement of the island by sea over eight millennia ago, Ireland’s Atlantic position shaped its role in wider European and world history. Across successive generations, Irish communities preserved and advanced seafaring skills, from early medieval voyages associated with the Brendan tradition and participation in the late Roman maritime world, through the development of coastal shipping and trade in the Middle Ages. In the modern era, Ireland pioneered forms of coastal transport, established Europe’s first coordinated lifeboat service, contributed to harbour and lighthouse engineering, educated major marine inventors such as Holland and Parsons, and played a leading role in fisheries education and oceanographic research, underscoring an enduring and under-recognised maritime legacy.

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