The fishing industry has always played an important part in Ireland’s history. From the deep-sea trawlers to the traditional vessels that sailed around the coast, the harbours of Ireland were once full of craft, large and small, that employed men and women in their thousands. Since Ireland’s entry into the European Economic Community, it has lost control over its rich territorial waters, and we are now instead seeing Spanish and Portuguese boats fish off the coast.

The sixth volume of Mike Smylie’s Fishing Industry Through Time covers the Irish coast. From the ports of the Irish Sea to the Atlantic coast of the west of Ireland, Mike Smylie shows us the changing types of traditional fishing craft used in Ireland. Fishing was not just about the boats involved, however, but also about the people, and this book gives an insight into those who worked the boats, repaired the nets, and gutted and sold the fish.