What weighs almost five kilos and ranges in subjects from archaeology to zoology, with Atlantic tsunamis, Viking raids and the Irish coast’s role in cinema in between?
The first Coastal Atlas of Ireland is ambitious and multidisciplinary. Between its 893 pages, it documents the coastline’s “ peoples, landscapes, places, patterns, spaces and events in time” - in the words of one of its five editors, University College Cork (UCC) emeritus professor of geography Robert Devoy.
The seven-year project began with a discussion involving Prof Devoy, Dr Maxim Kozachenko and Dr Val Cummins, and involves some 149 contributors.
The five editors at the launch of the Coastal Atlas of Ireland (from left) Barry Brunt,Sarah Kandrot, Darius Bartlett, Val Cummins and Robert Devoy
Its editorial team includes UCC colleagues Darius Bartlett, Barry Brunt and Sarah Kandrot, with support by Zoe O’Hanlon and Kyle Fawkes.
"It is dedicated to the late Dr John de Courcy Ireland and to Bill Carter"
It is dedicated to the late maritime historian Dr John de Courcy Ireland and to Bill Carter, former head of the University of Ulster’s department of environmental studies.
Prof Devoy, who is Ireland’s leading expert on sea-level rise, has contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a lead member of one of its working groups.
He spoke to Wavelengths about the atlas project, how it came about, how its digital element, StoryMap, will keep it current - and how one of its strengths is the “element of surprise....”
The Coastal Atlas of Ireland edited by Robert Devoy, Val Cummins, Darius Bartlett, Barry Brunt and Sarah Kandrot, is published by Cork University Press at 59 euro hardback, ISBN 9781782054511
