"Here is Ireland fully
escaped from literary or historical text—pounced on by
a lover who has had the patience to wait for it to reveal
its secret, visionary self. These are the private beauties
of an apparently plain and muted landscape, displayed for
him, the lover, because he has stalked the angle, the light,
the moment, when the beloved could be shown to best advantage."
- Introduction by Nuala O’ Faolain
Irish File (Rizzoli
International Publications, Inc.; Hardcover; 7 _ x 8 _";
100 two- and four- color photographs; $50.00;
February 2002) is a loving and introspective homage to the
land that has captured the imagination of travelers and poets
for centuries. Jon Riley’s intimate photographs go beyond
the rich Irish landscape to capture cultural moments, striking
still-lifes that capture much more about the land and people
than its postcard vistas. A worn statue of St. Patrick stands
guard over a mossy graveyard; W. B. Yeats’ chair sits
empty in a window nook; brightly painted row houses huddle
along the waterfront in the shadow of vast green hills; it
is impossible not to pause and reflect over these images,
to accept their invitation into another world. As best-selling
Irish author Nuala O’Faolain writes in her beautifully
lyrical introduction, Riley’s photographs show an unparalleled
intimacy with the Irish landscape: "If you live, as I
do, in a part of Ireland popular with tourists, you become
hardened to the transactions involved in photography . . .
And then, this. This American child
of Ireland gives us these photographs."
For travelers and emigrants who have visited the hills and
headlands of Ireland, Irish File will be a treasured reminder
of all the ways in which that land has inspired them. For
anyone who has never experienced the Irish landscape in person,
these photographs are a breathtaking journey in themselves.
Irish File/ About the Authors
is a commercial
photographer who has produced award-winning images for
major corporations, advertising agencies, and design firms.
His fine-art photography and imaging work has been shown in
galleries across the country, and can be viewed on his website,
www.irishimage.com. The photographs for Irish File were
taken during several trips to Ireland over a period of three
years, inspired by a desire to trace family roots and discover
new creative wells. He currently resides in Asheville, North
Carolina.
is a well-known
Irish newspaper columnist and author. Her first book, Are
You Somebody?: The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman, was
published to considerable acclaim in 1997, and went on to
become a best-seller in Ireland, the United States, and Australia.
Her novel My Dream of You was on the New York Times best-seller
list in its first week of publication in February 2001. She
divides her time between the west of Ireland, Dublin, and
New York City.
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