In Vanishing Ireland: Recollections of our Changing Times, award-winning photographer James Fennell and bestselling author Turtle Bunbury once again journey the length and breadth of Ireland to bring us an extraordinary, powerful new collection of poignant interviews from ordinary men and women who share with us their memories, providing us with an invaluable link to the past.

Through words and stunningly evocative photographs, we meet the people of Ireland who lived through adversity and hardship during the formative decades of independent Ireland, yet whose courage, kindness and humour remains intact. We talk with those who watched friends and family sail for foreign shores, and lose ourselves in a world where life was simpler, yet somehow happier; where storytelling, fiddle-playing, céilís and communal pastimes cemented the deep friendships that became the lifeblood of each community.

As stories are shared beside the warmth of a fire in farmhouses in Kerry and Clare; in the turf sheds of Limerick and Tipperary; over cups of tea and glasses of whiskey in the kitchens of Wexford, Sligo and Dublin; in the cobbled yards of Wicklow and Tipperary; in the shadow of the hills of Leitrim and Donegal; on the pavements of Dublin City; and against the sound of crashing waves on the coast of Galway, we meet the people who have lived through times of change as the past comes alive through their words.

Blacksmiths, saddlers, harness makers and coal miners, mattress makers, factory workers, bonesetters and cattle drivers, all are gathered here as we are afforded a glimpse of the inimitable spirit of the people of this country.

The world continues to change but, gathered within these pages, are stories and to be cherished, to keep the past alive long into the future.

Award-winning travel writer and historian, Turtle Bunbury was born in 1972 and educated in Dublin and Scotland. After graduating from Trinity College Dublin with a degree in Modern History in 1996, he spent three years in Hong Kong working as a freelance correspondent with the South China Morning Post. Since his return to Ireland, he has developed his interest in Irish and world history, contributing articles to magazines and newspapers around the world. His subsequent travels have brought him to Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mexico, Sri Lanka and the USA.
His recent publications include The Landed Gentry & Aristocracy of Co Wicklow (2005), Living in Sri Lanka (2006), Vanishing Ireland (2006), The Irish Pub (2008) and, most recently, Dublin Docklands - An Urban Voyage (2009). He also co-wrote
the script of the 2008 BIFF-nominated documentary 'John Henry Foley -Sculptor of the Empire'.Turtle is Homes Editor for The White Book and a frequent contributor to The Irish Times and The Irish Daily Mail. He lives in County Carlow with his wife Ally and daughters Jemima and Bay.

Photographer James Fennell was born and educated in Ireland. Now established as one of the country's foremost photographers, he has spent much of the past decade travelling extensively around the world. He works primarily in the areas of interiors, travel, lifestyle and portraiture and his work has been widely featured in magazines and newspapers from Vogue Living and House & Garden to The Financial Times and The Irish Times. Vanishing Ireland: Recollections of our Changing World is the third instalment in the hugely successful Vanishing Ireland series.