The River Dodder rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around thirty kilometres through several densely populated suburbs, joining the Liffey at Grand Canal Dock in central Dublin. Wild Waterways: A Celebration of Life on an Irish River is a new book of photographs and text by Robert O’Leary documenting over fifty species – from birds and butterflies to insects and mammals – that live along the Dodder banks.
With several tributaries, including the Owendoher, Little Dargle and the delightfully named Dundrum Slang, the Dodder supplied mills with power as early as the 14th century; today it continues to maintain a rich and biodiverse habitat.
Clearly a labour of love, patience, dogged determinism and some luck, O’Leary’s stunning photographs are a wonderful feast of the natural world. The text is bilingual, in English and Irish, with the name of the species in each photograph listed in English, Irish and Latin. The link between the Irish language and natural history has a noble pedigree. One of the oldest written languages, Irish has a name for every bird, tree, flower and animal; using Irish is a reminder of how naming and language are crucial to our link with the land, its habitats and history. It is also a reminder of the interdependence of people, locale and nature – especially in a time of climate crisis and the decline in biodiversity in Ireland, with a serious loss of native wild plant species, birds and mammals over the past fifty years.
O’Leary has written several books for teachers and schoolchildren. He is a member of Birdwatch Ireland and Offshoot Photography Society and an associate of the Irish Photographic Federation. In his introduction he states his hope to ‘raise awareness – to reconnect with the natural world’. With design and additional photography by Taryn Barling and a foreword by biologist and educator Éanna Ní Lamhna, the book is enjoyable, informative and timely. It is published by Merrion Press and all proceeds go to Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Stephanie McBride
