Ireland from the Sea

Like the coastline itself, Irish life has long been shaped by the sea. Andrew Phelan set out in his sloop Sarakiniko to discover the extent of his maritime heritage. It was a voyage that took him right round the coast of Ireland and deep into the island's history.

Every promontory, reef and shoal - Bloody Foreland, O'Malley's Breaker, the Lucifer Bank - records the story of a seafaring culture. Coping day after day with wind and tide, Andrew Phelan discovers coves and harbours, brings to life the conditions that caused great ships to founder, and helps make sense of the tragedy of the Famine, when people died on the shores of an abundant ocean.

This ragged coastline has had an influence stretching far beyond its own shores. Its fortified headlands have stood watch on the ocean from earlier times.