News Release

A walk through Gaelic history and culture

Book Announcement

University of Leeds

Communities living on the Atlantic coasts of Ireland and Scotland must rediscover their shared Gaelic heritage to secure a peaceful and sustainable future, argues a new book by sustainability expert and walking enthusiast Joseph Murphy.

At the Edge: Walking the Atlantic Coast of Ireland and Scotland tells the story of a 1500 km walk from Kerry to Lewis along the dramatic west coast of Ireland and Scotland and combines Gaelic history, culture and language, with sustainable development and a passion for walking.

Over three months Joseph Murphy climbed mountains, traversed bogs and explored the communities and towns along the length of this coast. His book describes not just the stunning landscapes, but the warmth of the people he met, the challenges they face today, and the 2000 years of Gaelic history and culture that have shaped the region.

"People on this coastline live in different countries and follow different religions. I want to show that they have Gaelic history, culture and language in common and that this can inform and underpin a vision of sustainability for the region," says Joseph Murphy, a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Leeds.

"Walking the coastline was also a chance to connect with part of my heritage that I knew almost nothing about. I think lots of people with Irish and Scottish heritage are in a similar position," adds Murphy.

Gaelic (Irish and Scottish) is woven into the text throughout as the author rejoices in the cultural treasures of Ireland and Scotland, such as the illuminated manuscripts of Celtic Christianity and poetry of Aogán Ó Rathaile and Alasdair MacMhaighstir Alasdair. Murphy also describes breathtaking walks, including a ten hour hike along the Bangor trail through the Nephin Beg Mountains of Ballycroy National Park.

However, At the Edge also deals with the more uneasy episodes in the region's history – delving into difficult but unavoidable topics such as the Famine in Ireland, the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the Clearances in Scotland.

The book draws heavily on Murphy's career as an academic who has studied sustainable development, to make a passionate case for putting community, local decision-making and cultural values at the centre of sustainable development - rather than emphasising national or global priorities.

For example, at the end of his walk he passed through the communities of Bràgar (Bragar) and Nis (Ness) on Lewis where local people were resisting a proposal for a giant wind farm. It has since been turned down.

The development would have transformed the area, effectively industrialising a rural landscape and potentially undermining an important Gaelic speaking community.

"It was hard for local people to resist because wind turbines represent clean energy and everyone knows that climate change is a problem. But in effect the imperative of sustainable development was being used unfairly against the community by developers."

Murphy believes that communities should be able to define sustainable development for themselves and that they should be given the opportunity to pursue their vision.

Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland, endorses the book and shares Joseph Murphy's belief in the importance of the shared Gaelic history and culture of Ireland and Scotland. "Today we must find ways to encourage and support Gaelic communities and regenerate this rich inheritance to the benefit not only of Scotland and Ireland but of their immediate neighbours and the wider world," he says.

Salmond adds, "It is surely the case... that culture and language must be part of any meaningful definition of sustainability."

At the Edge is ideal for anyone with Irish or Scottish heritage, people interested in Gaelic history, culture and language, those concerned about sustainable development in practice, and anyone interested in following the route themselves – although perhaps not on foot.

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Dr Murphy's trip was sponsored by Colmcille, a cross border institution established in the context of Northern Ireland's Good Friday Agreement to strengthen links between Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

He received additional support from the Scottish Arts Council.

Further information

Clare Ryan, University of Leeds press office, Tel: 0113 343 8059, Mobile: 07976 929 746, Email: c.s.ryan@leeds.ac.uk

Copies of At the Edge: Walking the Atlantic Coast of Ireland and Scotland will be available to journalists in April from Robert Davidson at Sandstone Press, tel: 01349 862 583, mob: 0788 795 5602, Email: bob@sandstonepress.com

Notes to Editors

Dr Joseph Murphy is a Senior Research Fellow in the Sustainability Research Institute at the University of Leeds. He has a PhD in environmental politics and before taking up his current position was Senior Research Fellow at Mansfield College, University of Oxford. A keen walker and enthusiast for long-distance trails, he has hiked coast-to-coast across the Pyrenees twice. At the Edge is his first book for a wider audience and the route is the longest he has completed.

The book contains six maps in English and Gaelic, 16 photographs and additional illustrations. They are available to journalists on request.

The title of the book in Irish Gaelic is Ar an Imeall: Ag Siúl Chósta Atlantach na hÉireann agus na hAlban and in Scottish Gaelic is Aig an Oir: A' coiseachd air Costa Cuan Siar na h-Èireann is na h-Alba.

The University of Leeds is one of the largest higher education institutions in the UK with more than 30,000 students from 130 countries and a turnover of £450m. The University is a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities and the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise showed it to be the UK's eighth biggest research powerhouse. The University's vision is to secure a place among the world's top 50 by 2015.


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