This was another fab nonfiction photo-book from Amber Books.
The book is split up into six chapters including an Introduction, Castles & Houses, Transport & Industrial, Town & City, Farms, Cottages & Schools, Religious Places, Military Sites, and of course the Picture Credits at the back of the book.
There was so much to look at in this book even though it’s only 226 pages. Ireland has a very rich history and so there are plenty of photographs from all ages.
I think my favourite photos were of the MV Alta, a ship that had total engine failure in Bermuda in October 2018, and then ended washed up in County Cork, in February 2020! Also an art deco-style shopping arcade and the Templemore Baths both in Belfast, the mock pub located on an island in Country Kerry built for a Guinness advert, the beautiful scenery of Skelig Michael and Great Blasket in County Kerry, Jerpoint Abbey in County Kilkenny, Ballynafagh Church and Graveyard in County Wicklow, and Muckross Abbey in County Kerry which has a large yew tree growing in the middle of the cloister.
My favourite chapters were Transport & Industrial, Town & City, and Religious Places.
I enjoyed my armchair visit to Ireland and recommend this, if you’re interested in photography or Ireland.

What a great read! Get lost inside the ruins of Ireland. From the comfort of your couch, you can explore old ruins, get the history, and take a walk into some truly iconic areas.

Dominic Connolly did a fantastic job, and the photos inside this book are amazing!

This was such a beautiful and haunting look at abandoned places in Ireland. The pictures alone are worth the price of the book. They are so wonderfully done. It feels like you are really there.

Excellent overview of a wide variety of abandoned sites in Ireland. The book is divided into a number of categories, such as castles and government institutions. While well illustrated, I wish there were more pictures associated with each site.

A very good book, although I can see how the urban explorers coming to this might think it a bit too chocolate box, and the people who love Ireland not appreciating the focus on the rundown, burnt down and falling down. The island – and that's NI as well as the rest, and her smaller isles too – is replete with places where humankind has scarpered, and all that is left is ruin. Churches have been ransacked, factories and shops deemed surplus to requirements, and everything from cottages to manors to palaces to whole villages have been left unattended. Dozens of housing estates built in boom times never heard the patter of tiny feet, and indeed still have the rusting scaffolding up. All are here on these pages, wonderfully pictorial ones at that, with just enough of the story in the captions. This seems niche, but give it a chance to get its appeal into you and it will win, and if you dislike the industrial mills or the focus on military abandonment, don't worry – something else will be decrepit any second now. Four and a half stars for a book you probably didn't know you would be interested in.

Ireland is a place I have always wanted to visit, not just because of the beautiful countryside but also the Irish diaspora - the Irish folks I've been lucky enough to meet and engage with abroad, where many have settled, always have a unique charm about them that I have always gravitated towards. Abandoned Ireland is a stunning nod to Ireland and a reminder to me that The Emerald Isle awaits. Spilling with dramatic full colour photographs of many of the sites it discusses and well researched, pertinent information regarding the location and history of said sites, this is a great read for those looking for a little Irish inspiration.

A good, entertaining, and fascinating reading that captivates you from the first page. The images are gorgeous, and the insight into the historical details are right on point. It's a book that can be savored in small moments to take you away when you need it the most with images that capture the decadent beauty of Ireland.

This is a book that makes you travel with your mind and discover new places. It's a book full of gorgeous pictures of places that makes you think of myths.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Photographically gorgeous, with enlightening text, this coffee-table work showcases many aspects of Irish life as it once was lived. It's truly.a labor of love to have researched, photographed, and identified the many buildings and other sites featured in ABANDONED IRELAND, yet sad for the ways of life that are now lost to History.

I would like to thank netgalley and Amber Books Ltd for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful pictures, interesting tibits on the sites

Reading, or rather viewing, Abandoned Ireland sparked a longing to return to this beautiful country that we visited so long ago.
It is amazing how the author of this book has brought together so many pictures of derelict buildings in really beautiful settings. It is a bit paradoxical that there is so much beauty in ruins, but some of the images are really extraordinary.
I loved all the sections, not only the beautiful ruined castles and villas but also the industrial archaeology, the abandoned villages and farms and the derelict buildings in the cities.

The book reminded me of our journey to Ireland over 20 years ago when we visited a lot of interesting sites and places but where one visit to Lissadell House in county Sligo, which at that moment was not open to the public, will stay with me for ever. We noticed a 5 line reference in the Blue guide Ireland because of the connection of this estate of the Gore-Booth family to te great poet William Butler Yeats and decided to have look if we could visit the place, at least on the outside. While walking around the perimeter we met a man who turned out to be the caretaker and also a landscape architect. He was tremendously excited because that day they did some interventions to the gardens which brought back the original sight lanes to the ocean. He asked us how we ended up at Lissadell house and when we told him that we were very interested in the history of the house and the owners he invited us to return after lunch hours when he would give us a tour of the building. Of course we were prepared to wait and so we returned in the afternoon. It was the most impressive tour we ever had, not only due to the enthusiasm of our "guide" but also because the building at that time was not a museum or National Trust object which meant that it was in its original state, quite derelict at some places and with a lot of art rotting away in the basements (a real pity of-course).

I've always had a fascination with ruined buildings, abandoned villages and deserted villas and houses, so I really love this book.

Thank you Dominic Connolly and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this interesting and beautiful book in exchange for my honest review. A digital copy of the book is sure to be on my tablet next time we visit Ireland, which will be sooner rather than later now I've read this book.

Abandoned Ireland
Dominis Connolly
If you have ever thought of touring Ireland, you will enjoy Abandoned Ireland. This book is filled with beautiful photographs. Throughout the landscape there are houses pubs, ships, castles, abbeys, churches, and mills, many are ruins. As I studied the pages I wondered about the people that lived there.

This book provides great images to go with the text that makes you feel like you are in Ireland yourself.

Abandoned Ireland is full of amazing abandoned castles, manor houses, bath houses, shops, transport and more. It's so interesting to see these once grand buildings left behind and claimed by nature and time.

stunning book with the amazing photos, only seen on ebook so I can only imagine the hard copy being even better. Lovely for the coffee table and pick up and read again and again. Some real gems in there and I loved the martello towers and the drone shots. Not a great amount of text, which i like. Excellent. Thank you #NetGalley for the e-book to review.

Abandoned Ireland by Dominic Connolly is a great coffee table book for anyone who loves to couch travel. It gives a quick tease of information on the myths and history of the ruined and forgotten structures in Ireland- which was, at times, a bit depressing. However, it also made me want to dive deeper and learn more about Ireland. This book has only increased my desire to visit that gorgeous country.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
#AbandonedIreland #NetGalley

As the title suggest this is photo book of abandoned places across Ireland. I enjoy beauty, landscapes and history so the Castles and (great) Houses, Religious Places were of more interest to me than Transport & Industrial, Town & City and Farms, Cottages & Schools and Military Sites. But the 180 photos show Ireland in a different way than a traditional travel book. It reminds me that Ireland is still a place I want to visit and explore.

This is the 2nd book by this publisher I've read in this format, and I absolutely love them (the other being castles of the world)

There's just enough info on each photo so you can go find out some more, but not so much that it seems onerous to read. A nice coffee table book, with insights and info I've not come across before

My only complaint is that both these books have now widened my to-visit list!

I received an advance copy for free from NetGalley, on the expectation that I would provide an honest review.

A beautiful book through and through!

I was drawn to this book because of its premises. Abandoned buildings and places and Ireland? Count me in! I went on a beautiful trip to these places I had only imagined seeing. Dominic Connolly gathers a considerable list of places organised by categories such as, houses and castles, towns, cottages, religions places, and transport and industrial sights. The photos are absolutely breath taking. With every image there’s a short description on when the building was constructed, who owned it, and when and why it was abandoned.

Some of the photos made me a bit sad, particularly the abandoned towns and shops. I learned quite a bit about these places in a way to was both engaging and haunting.

Absolutely beautiful and definitely worth getting!

This beautiful coffee table book contains hundreds of photos of abandoned locations in Ireland. The photos are all high quality and in color. The book is divided into sections such as castles, churches, military, boats, etc. Some of the locations were more interesting than others but all were fun to look at. Each photos is accompanied by a brief description of the location's significance and history.