LAND, LUST and GUN SMOKE: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF GAME SHOOTS IN IRELAND. By Peter Bacon.

2012 1st edition. 4to (197 x 270mm). Pp320. Colour and b/w photographs, colour and b/w illustrations, map, bibliography, foreword by the Earl of Iveagh, silk marker. Fawn boards, spine titled in gilt.

"The history of game shoots in Ireland is more than a sporting catalogue or a monument to priviledge; it is a vibrant record of the changing face of a country and a society. During the heyday of a landed gentry poised on the brink of social upheaval, organised shooting played a central role in the lives of both rich and poor across large swathes of the countryside. For some it was a theatre in which alliances were forged, marriages made and economic ties strengthened; for others it was a primary source of employment and a mainstay of everyday life. In addition, what is sometimes missed in the debate on the place of such pursuits in a modern world is the central role that game shooting has played in conservation and the protection of wildlife habitats." Chapters include: The Ascendency and subsequent evolution of shooting in Edwardian Ireland; The influence of economics and politics - the Irish Land Question; The great shoots of the North-West - woodcock, snipe and grouse; Some shooting estates in northern counties; The West and South-West; Driven shooting in County Wicklow - new wine in old bottles; The wildfowl of Wexford Harbour and sloblands.