Binding: Hardback
Date Published: 28 May 2026
Since 2012 Robert O'Byrne has produced theirishaesthete. com, an award-winning site exploring the country's extensive architectural heritage through words and pictures, In 2024 Lilliput Press published a collection of his texts and photographs: The Irish Aesthete: Buildings of Ireland, Lost and Found, which quickly sold out.
Now Robert has devised a second book, The Irish Aesthete:Buildings of Ireland, Known and Unknown which, like its predecessor, introduces readers to an extraordinary range of buildings, in this instance all under the care of the Office of Public Works. Some, such as Castletown, County Kildare and Garinish Island, off the coast of West Cork, will be familiar. But many others are likely to be unfamiliar, like towering Pallas Castle, County Galway and the richly decorated early Christian church at Killeshin, County Laois. There are country houses, monastic ruins, historic gardens, Norman castles and round towers. Despite their diversity, they have two characteristics in common: they are all OPW managed properties and all accessible to the public.
Covering some 150 sites, each photographed by Robert O'Byrne, The Irish Aesthete: Buildings of Ireland, Known and Unknown will serve as the ideal gazetteer for anyone travelling around the country, acting as a guide to discover and enjoy our rich architectural heritage.