"IF A SINGLE PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND WORDS ...

.... then it’s no exaggeration to state that there are many millions of words contained between the covers of "A Peopled Landscape" - the magnificent new book from North Mayo-based photographer Eamonn O'Boyle.

The culmination of almost two decades of Eamonn’s life behind the lens, A Peopled Landscape is destined to become a very valuable addition to the photographic history of a changing Ireland.

It is worth noting that when Eamonn began collecting images for this book in the mid-1990s, the Celtic Tiger was but a mere twinkle in the nation’s eyes. Viewed through the prism of the turbulent recent past, those years of bust to boom seem like several lifetimes ago.

The images contained in A Peopled Landscape span two decades and offer a revealing portrait of the West of Ireland as its people leave behind some of the ageold traditions of their ancestors. Photographs of old shops and fair days portray a society that experienced little change for much of the twentieth century, and yet many of these scenes disappeared from our cultural landscape in the first decade of the new century.They have been captured for posterity in this book.

Eamonn has long been known for his peerless landscape photography and there is no shortage of spectacular aerial images in this book. One photograph, in particular, of the many islands in Clew Bay is utterly mesmerising, while there is also a wonderful portrait of the Reek under snow, presumably captured during last winter’s Big Freeze. But it is in the intimate studies of ordinary people doing ordinary things that single out Eamonn O’Boyle as one of the finest photographers working in the West today.

A simple image of a group of women enjoying a hen party on Enniscrone beach becomes a colourful vivacious portrait of young people living life for the moment. The weathered visage of the legendary fisherman Pat ‘ÄòRua’Äô Reilly, from Glenlara in Belmullet, tells its own tale of an indomitable survivor who never failed to make it to the shore.

There are images, too, of the everyday practices many of us take for granted - an old man lighting his pipe or the publican with the remnants of Ash Wednesday on his forehead. Mere mortals witness these scenes in their everyday lives without ever realising the significance of what is in front of them, but talented photographers like Eamonn O’Boyle have an unerring eye for the perfect image, capturing much more than a mere snapshot in time. What we see in this book is a living, breathing history on every single page - images that will inform historians for generations to come.

Undoubtedly the most striking collection of images comes from a wake on Inishbiggle Island as the funeral party carries the coffin across the rocky shoreline to the boat. The photograph is seeped in poignancy as the mourners bid farewell to a way of life as much as to a loved one.

It is no exaggeration to state that A Peopled Landscape is one of the most significant books to be published in Co Mayo in recent years. Fr Brendan Hoban and Fr Kevin Hegarty, two of the county’s most talented wordsmiths, have penned the text that augments Eamonn O’Boyle’s peerless photographs. The net result is a book of the highest quality and one that will stand the test of time.

It’s great to see such high standards in a local book and there are many international publishing houses that would be immensely proud of A Peopled Landscape. We cannot recommend it highly enough and if readers are looking for a present for family or friends living away from home they need look no further.

A Peopled Landscape is a publication Mayo people all over the globe would be proud to display in their bookcases.

Photographer Eamonn O'Boyle has set a new standard in photojournalism with a spellbinding collection of images of life in the West of Ireland, writes James Laffey.

James Laffey (Western People)