Local conservationist and ornithologist, Ricky Whelan, is among those to feature in a wonderful new book entitled, ‘Irish Working Lives’.
Ricky who is from Mountmellick, lives in Derrylusk, Mountrath and is based in Banagher, Co Offaly where he is a Project Manager with BirdWatch Ireland.
He is the founding chairman of the Laois-Offaly branch of the Irish Wildlife Trust and is Chairman of the Abbeyleix Bog Project.
The book is at once both exquisitely and powerfully written by Marie Louise O’ Donnell, and her prose is fittingly accompanied by stunning images by award winning photographer, Eric Luke.
It was launched last night in Bewley’s on Grafton Street by broadcasters Pat Kenny and Seán O’ Rourke.
Marie Louise O’Donnell is an educator, broadcaster, actress, writer and a noted public speaker. Having first lectured in Drama at Carysfort College, she moved to DCU where she worked in the communications department for twenty-five years.
Following training in radio with the BBC, she worked weekly as a colour radio writer and reporter on the national broadcaster’s Today with Pat Kenny and Today with Sean O’Rourke shows.
She regularly contributes articles to national newspapers and is a frequent reviewer and media contributor.
In May 2011, she was appointed to the Senate by the Taoiseach Enda Kenny and re-appointed in 2016. Irish Working Lives is her first book.
Eric Luke has worked as a staff photographer with various Irish national newspapers for over forty-five years. He is a former Irish Times photographer and winner of numerous national and international awards, including World Press Photo and PPAI Photographer of the Year.
His photography has taken him on assignments worldwide, including five Olympic Games and two World Cup
It is extraordinary how Marie Louise O’Donnell’s radio essays have translated and transitioned so well, so evocatively as she engages the reader with her amazing insights in these vignettes of peoples’ lives as they go about their work.
These are all inspiring and engaging encounters as told by Marie Louise O’ Donnell in her own distinctive and inimitable style, the detail and delight present in every moment and every different personality.
The book will be available from All Books and Eason’s in Portlaoise and is priced at €24.99.
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