Today we wanted to highlight Rebecca Brownlie‘s ABANDONED IRELAND 2, which was published just a little while ago. Published by Merrion Press, here’s the synopsis…

In Abandoned Ireland 2, photographer Rebecca Brownlie travels further off the beaten path to explore and showcase Ireland’s forgotten buildings before nature or the demolition man claims them forever. Through her evocative photography, we cross the threshold of deserted mansions, cottages, convents and hotels, mills and shopping centres, wandering through once-lively rooms that have now fallen silent, where only mementos of the past stand sentinel. Amid the decay, tables are elaborately set for tea, coats hang by the door and well-thumbed books lay poised and open, as if their owner will be back at any moment.

From a castle where King James II stayed before the Battle of the Boyne to a manor house whose occupants mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the night, the arresting and poignant photography on every page is a love letter to Ireland’s buildings abandoned to time.

The first in the Abandoned Ireland series is also published by Merrion Press.

Here are some reviews the first book received…

‘The author is interested above all, one senses, in the grain of day-to-day life: in the stories and power retained by detritus and everyday objects – the crucifix on the wall, the dusty piano, assorted books, the bottle of cod liver oil – even amid the desolation of abandonment. And more than anything, Brownlie’s tremendously evocative photographs tell and amplify such stories of materiality, and of buildings poised trembling between life and death.’ – Neil Hegarty, The Irish Times

‘The images are captivating … she has a natural eye for composition, and a talent for picking out features of interest, whether that’s highlighting the breathtaking architectural aspects of a building, or honing in on the sights that tell the stories of the forgotten lives within.’ – Chrissie Russell, The Sunday Independent 

‘ABANDONED IRELAND is packed with beautiful, evocative pictures of neglected buildings which now serve as crumbling time capsules of days past. Here, photographer Rebecca Brownlie explains how a fascination for seeking out haunted houses evolved into an ongoing quest to document decaying dwellings and their often fascinating histories…’ – The Independent

‘Rebecca Brownlie’s beautiful photographic catalogue… provides food for thought in a multitude of ways.’ – Michael Duggan, The Irish Examiner