Author : Michael J. Conry
Description : With almost 70% of the country underlain by granite bedrock, it is not surprising that granite has made a huge contribution to the geology, landscape and agriculture of Co. Carlow. It has shaped the very lives of the people who inhabited the country for thousands of years.
From earliest times, people learned to use this excellent building stone for all kinds of artefacts, monuments, historic stones, walls and buildings, so that today it is difficult to find any object of antiquity within the country that has not been hewn from sparking granite.
The book endeavours to draw attention to the importance of granite stone in the lives of the people, the economy of the county and more importantly to the rich heritage it has bequeathed.
Part 1, The Carlow Landscape, describes in some detail the influence of granite on the geology, geography, soils and agriculture of the county. Part 2, The Built Heritage, draws attention to the nature and variety of granite buildings, structures and artefacts in the county while Part 3, The Last of the Stonecutters, endeavours to record the names of the skilled stone-men who carried out this work.
Informations : Hardback, 368 pp, in full colour with 377 black and white (old) and colour photographs, maps, diagrams and etchings, published (2006) by Chapelstown Press.
Price : €40 (Postage extra)
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