Lysaght launches ode to eagles

‘Eagle Country’, by SeΡn Lysaght, will be launched tomorrow evening (Wednesday), April 18, at 7pm in GMIT Mayo, Castlebar. The book is ‘a quest into the wild places of Mayo and the west of Ireland’.
Its blurb describes how the work began as a series of walks along the roads close to the author’s house near Westport, exploring the fractal of country lanes and boreens, became an epic journey across the romote hills and rugged sea coasts of Ireland in search of places where sea eagles and golden eagles nested before their local extinction in the early 20th century.
Captivated by the history and fortunes of Ireland’s eagles, Lysaght walked through west Cork and Kerry, to the lakes of Killarney, Lough Derg in Country Clare, and to Gleanveagh National Park in northwest Donegal. Based on his observations of the people, landscapes and wildlife encountered along the way, ‘Eagle Country’ unfolds before the reader like a prose map, marking out the memories, place names and folklore that have been shaped by a vanished species.
It also celebrates the return of sea eagles and golden eagles to Ireland, following successful reintroduction programmes. With a slender foothold, there is cause for hope as these magnificent creatures begin again to find their place in Mayo and across Ireland.   
SeΡn Lysaght grew up in Limerick and has lived for many years in Mayo. He taught at Maynooth University and, until his recent retirement, at GMIT Castlebar. One of the country’s leading poets, he has published eight collections, including ‘Noah’s Irish Ark’, ‘The Clare Island Survey’, ‘Scarecrow’ and ‘Carnival Masks’. He has also written a biography of the Irish naturalist Robert Lloyd Praeger.  
At tomorrow evening’s launch, which will take place in GMIT Castlebar’s Lecture Theatre P002, Lysaght will discuss the background to the project and present some photographs from his travels in search of eagles and eagle history.