Description

The Windings of the Moy Revisited by Pat McCarrick is a contemporary illustrated exploration of the River Moy, one of Ireland’s most celebrated salmon rivers, flowing from the Ox Mountains through Sligo and Mayo to Killala Bay.

The book acts as both a visual documentary and a cultural reinterpretation of the original early 20th-century work The Windings of the Moy by Rev. James Greer. McCarrick follows the same river route but presents it in reverse conceptual structure—moving from source to sea—while combining historical text excerpts with modern photography.

A major feature of the work is its extensive photographic record. McCarrick, a professional photographer with strong local ties to the Ox Mountains region, captures over 150 images of the river’s course, including:

• Ox Mountains and Cloonacool
• Lough Talt and surrounding uplands
• Swinford, Foxford, and Ballina
• Historic sites such as Straide (Michael Davitt’s grave) and Belleek Castle
• Coastal terminus at Killala Bay

The book blends visual storytelling with heritage interpretation, highlighting how the river landscape has changed since the early 20th century. It preserves the descriptive tone of Rev. Greer’s original text while adding a modern documentary layer focused on photography, geography, and environmental continuity.

Rather than functioning purely as a travel guide, the work serves as a regional cultural archive, documenting both natural scenery and human settlement patterns along the Moy valley. It is especially relevant for readers interested in:

• Mayo and Sligo local history
• Irish river systems and ecology
• Photographic landscape studies
• Heritage tourism and regional identity

Overall, it stands as a modern reinterpretation of a classic Irish topographical work, bridging historical narrative with contemporary visual documentation.