Errigal: Sacred Mountain

For a long time the lofty grandeur and imposing presence of Mount Errigal in Co Donegal has charmed painters, photographers and film- makers. This great iconic peak of the North West has also been over half a century the focal point of much of Cathal Searcaighs acclaimed poetry in the Irish language. He is the celebrant of its mysteries, the archivist of its seasons, the poet of its beauty. In Errigal: Sacred Mountain, Cathal OSearcaigh (one of Irelands most celebrated poets) goes on a pilgrim path around Errigal and (in the active meditation of walking) summons up the spirit of this revered mountain, the largest in Ireland. In his Passages of Light as he calls them, we get a vivid and an insightful word-journey around a mountain that has shaped the thinking of one of the most eminent poets in the Irish language. Eloquently written, this book is a sure-footed mix of memoir, acute observation, wry humour and wisdom. It includes an engaging Preface by Irish American writer, Patrick Breslin; a scholarly Afterword by renowned historian and archaeologist Brian Lacey; and translations of Searcaighs poems by some of Irelands most outstanding poets (Seamus Heaney, Paddy Bushe, Thomas McCarthy and Gabriel Rosenstock).