A stunning selection of colourised images will be published by Black & White in October 2021. World rights for The Colour of Ireland: County by County 1850-1950 were acquired from the author by Campbell Brown, Managing Director at Black & White Publishing.
The Colour of Ireland covers all 32 counties and features over 150 beautiful photos. It’s described as bringing the people and places of Ireland’s history to life.
The new book provides a unique social account of Ireland through vibrant imagery with many previously unpublished photographs. Readers will see the original, untouched black and white photographs beside the restored and colourised images.
Spanning over 100 years, The Colour of Ireland uses contemporary photographs as its basis for the full-colour digital restorations thus bringing out minute details.
Architectural design professional Rob Cross has brought together these photographs of Irish life capturing Ireland with its picturesque villages, towns, and cities.
Most notably, it’s truly the people of Ireland who are the stars with images of workers going about their business, to notable women like Muriel MacSwiney, Peig Sayers, and Constance Markievicz. Minority groups including Irish Travellers and those from different ethnic and religious backgrounds also feature.
The book also captures images of Ireland’s most turbulent times from the War of Independence and the Irish Civil War and features political figures such as Michael Collins, Éamon de Valera, Arthur Griffith, and James Connolly.
‘It’s been an incredibly rewarding journey to bring these photographs into the 21st Century, sharing my passion for Irish history and using careful historical research to determine the colours of every object in each photo,’ Rob Cross said. ‘I can’t wait to share this book with the world.’