As we face into a new lockdown, bookshops are still open for click and collect and online ordering – books got us through the last lockdown, so support local business and order as close to home as you can!
The Christmas No 1 for 2020 was the beautiful Old Ireland in Colour, the perfect book to distract you from 2020. TheJournal.ie Best Irish Published Book Of The Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards 2020, it is another stunning hardback title from Merrion Press, who earlier in the year brought you Psychiatrist in the Chair: The Official Biography of Anthony Clare
Old Ireland in Colour brings to life the rich history of Ireland and the Irish through the colour restoration of these stunning images of all walks of Irish life throughout nineteenth and twentieth century. From the chaos of the Civil War to the simple beauty of the islands; from legendary revolutionaries to modest fisherfolk, every image has been exquisitely transformed and every page bursting with life. Using a combination of cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology and his own historical research, John Breslin has meticulously colourised these pictures with breath-taking attention to detail and authenticity. With over 250 photographs from all four provinces, and accompanied by fascinating captions by historian Sarah-Anne Buckley, Old Ireland in Colour breathes new life into the scenes we thought we knew, and brings our ancestors back to life before our eyes.
Covering The Irish Revolution, Society and Culture, Women and Children, The Irish Abroad, and Scenic Ireland it has been complied by NUI Galway academics Professor John Breslin who has written over 200 publications and co-authored two books. He is co-founder of boards.ie, adverts.ie, and the PorterShed; and Sarah-Anne Buckley who is a lecturer in History and President of the Women’s History Association of Ireland. She has published two monographs, four edited volumes and numerous articles, and is co-founder of the Irish Centre for the Histories of Labour and Class and Senior Research Fellow in the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre.
Pick up your copy direct from Merrion Press here – it makes the perfect gift!
Here is the Irish top 20 in all categories from data supplied by Nielsen BookScan taken from the Irish Consumer Market week ending 26th December 2020:
| Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
| 1 | Old Ireland in Colour | Breslin, John & Buckley, Sarah-Anne | Merrion Press | 8,390 |
| 2 | Champagne Football:John Delaney and the Betrayal of Irish Football: Th | Tighe, Mark & Rowan, Paul | Penguin Ireland | 6,861 |
| 3 | Home Stretch:THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER & WINNER OF THE AN POST IRISH | Norton, Graham | Coronet Books | 6,299 |
| 4 | Beyond the Tape:The Life and Many Deaths of a State Pathologist | Cassidy, Marie | Hachette Books Ireland | 5,741 |
| 5 | Never Mind the B#ll*cks, Here’s the Science:A scientist’s guide to the | O’Neill, Luke | Gill Books | 5,195 |
| 6 | Promised Land,A | Obama, Barack | Viking | 4,678 |
| 7 | Code Name Bananas | Walliams, David | HarperCollins | 4,515 |
| 8 | Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse,The | Mackesy, Charlie | Ebury Press | 3,979 |
| 9 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End (Book 15):Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Kinney, Jeff | Puffin | 3,324 |
| 10 | Guinness World Records 2021 | Guinness World Records | Guinness World Records | 2,903 |
| 11 | Thursday Murder Club,The:The Record-Breaking Sunday Times Number One B | Osman, Richard | Viking | 2,861 |
| 12 | Snow | Banville, John | Faber & Faber | 2,795 |
| 13 | Here’s the Story:A Memoir | McAleese, Mary | Penguin Ireland | 2,747 |
| 14 | Light That Never Goes Out,A:A Memoir | Shanley, Keelin | Gill Books | 2,533 |
| 15 | Waterford Whispers News 2020 | Williamson, Colm | Gill Books | 2,515 |
| 16 | Neven Maguire’s Midweek Meals:Simple recipes for easy everyday eating | Maguire, Neven | Gill Books | 2,436 |
| 17 | Braywatch | O’Carroll-Kelly, Ross | Penguin Ireland | 2,423 |
| 18 | Monk,The:The Life and Crimes of Ireland’s Most Enigmatic Gang Boss | Williams, Paul | Allen & Unwin | 2,377 |
| 19 | Sentinel,The:(Jack Reacher 25):Jack Reacher | Child, Lee & Child, Andrew | Bantam Press | 2,329 |
| 20 | How Animals Saved My Life: Being the Supervet | Fitzpatrick, Professor Noel | Trapeze | 2,303 |
The top 10 in each category looks like this:
| Mass Market Fiction | ||||
| Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
| 1 | Where the Crawdads Sing | Owens, Delia | Corsair | 1,942 |
| 2 | Guest List,The | Foley, Lucy | HarperCollins Publishers | 970 |
| 3 | Family Gift,The:A heartwarming comfort read for Autumn 2020 from the # | Kelly, Cathy | Orion (an Imprint of The Orion | 679 |
| 4 | Girl, Woman, Other:WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019 | Evaristo, Bernardine | Penguin Books Ltd | 579 |
| 5 | Milkman | Burns, Anna | Faber & Faber | 460 |
| 6 | Conversations with Friends | Rooney, Sally | Faber & Faber | 455 |
| 7 | Hunting Party,The | Foley, Lucy | HarperCollins Publishers | 445 |
| 8 | Beekeeper of Aleppo,The:The Sunday Times Bestseller and Richard & Judy | Lefteri, Christy | Manilla Press | 444 |
| 9 | Normal People | Rooney, Sally | Faber & Faber | 431 |
| 10 | Silent Patient,The:The record-breaking, multimillion copy Sunday Times | Michaelides, Alex | Orion (an Imprint of The Orion | 373 |
| Original Fiction | ||||
| Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
| 1 | Home Stretch:THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER & WINNER OF THE AN POST IRISH | Norton, Graham | Coronet Books | 6,299 |
| 2 | Thursday Murder Club,The:The Record-Breaking Sunday Times Number One B | Osman, Richard | Viking | 2,861 |
| 3 | Snow | Banville, John | Faber & Faber | 2,795 |
| 4 | Braywatch | O’Carroll-Kelly, Ross | Penguin Ireland | 2,423 |
| 5 | Sentinel,The:(Jack Reacher 25):Jack Reacher | Child, Lee & Child, Andrew | Bantam Press | 2,329 |
| 6 | After the Silence | O’Neill, Louise | riverrun | 1,934 |
| 7 | Law of Innocence,The:The Brand New Lincoln Lawyer Thriller:Mickey Hall | Connelly, Michael | Orion (an Imprint of The Orion | 1,768 |
| 8 | It’s That Time of Year:A heartwarming festive read from the Number One | Meaney, Roisin | Hachette Books Ireland | 1,663 |
| 9 | Strange Flowers:The Number One Bestseller | Ryan, Donal | Doubleday Ireland | 1,656 |
| 10 | Love | Doyle, Roddy | Jonathan Cape | 1,552 |
| Paperback Non Fiction | ||||
| Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
| 1 | Champagne Football:John Delaney and the Betrayal of Irish Football: Th | Tighe, Mark & Rowan, Paul | Penguin Ireland | 6,861 |
| 2 | Beyond the Tape:The Life and Many Deaths of a State Pathologist | Cassidy, Marie | Hachette Books Ireland | 5,741 |
| 3 | Waterford Whispers News 2020 | Williamson, Colm | Gill Books | 2,515 |
| 4 | Monk,The:The Life and Crimes of Ireland’s Most Enigmatic Gang Boss | Williams, Paul | Allen & Unwin | 2,377 |
| 5 | How Animals Saved My Life: Being the Supervet | Fitzpatrick, Professor Noel | Trapeze | 2,303 |
| 6 | Life on Our Planet,A:My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future | Attenborough, David | Ebury Press | 1,609 |
| 7 | Rory’s Story:My Unexpected Journey to Self Belief | O’Connor, Rory & Crowe, Dermot | Gill Books | 1,495 |
| 8 | Ghost In The Throat,A | Ni Ghriofa, Doireann | Tramp Press | 1,290 |
| 9 | Guarded Life,A:My story of the dark side of An Garda Síochána | Moynihan, Majella | Hachette Books Ireland | 1,263 |
| 10 | Bloodied Field,The:Croke Park. Sunday 21 November 1920 | Foley, Michael | O’Brien Press Ltd | 1,019 |
| Hardback Non Fiction | ||||
| Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
| 1 | Old Ireland in Colour | Breslin, John & Buckley, Sarah-Anne | Merrion Press | 8,390 |
| 2 | Never Mind the B#ll*cks, Here’s the Science:A scientist’s guide to the | O’Neill, Luke | Gill Books | 5,195 |
| 3 | Promised Land,A | Obama, Barack | Viking | 4,678 |
| 4 | Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse,The | Mackesy, Charlie | Ebury Press | 3,979 |
| 5 | Guinness World Records 2021 | Guinness World Records | Guinness World Records | 2,903 |
| 6 | Here’s the Story:A Memoir | McAleese, Mary | Penguin Ireland | 2,747 |
| 7 | Light That Never Goes Out,A:A Memoir | Shanley, Keelin | Gill Books | 2,533 |
| 8 | Neven Maguire’s Midweek Meals:Simple recipes for easy everyday eating | Maguire, Neven | Gill Books | 2,436 |
| 9 | Page from My Life,A:A Selection of Stories from Ray D’Arcy Show Listen | HarperCollins | 2,107 | |
| 10 | Thirty-Two Words for Field:Lost Words of the Irish Landscape | Magan, Manchán | Gill Books | 1,816 |
| Childrens | ||||
| Title | Author | Imprint | Sales | |
| 1 | Code Name Bananas | Walliams, David | HarperCollins | 4,515 |
| 2 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End (Book 15):Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Kinney, Jeff | Puffin | 3,324 |
| 3 | Ickabog,The:A warm and witty fairy-tale adventure to entertain the who | Rowling, J.K. | Little, Brown Books for Young | 1,883 |
| 4 | Cat Kid Comic Club: the new blockbusting bestseller from the creator o | Pilkey, Dav | Scholastic U.S. | 1,387 |
| 5 | Dog Man 9: Grime and Punishment:Dog Man | Pilkey, Dav | Scholastic U.S. | 1,119 |
| 6 | Great Irish Farm Book,The | McCullough, Darragh | Gill Books | 742 |
| 7 | Break the Mould:How to Take Your Place in the World – WINNER OF THE AN | Burke, Sinéad | Wren & Rook | 739 |
| 8 | Story of Croke Park,The | Ó Muircheartaigh, Micheál | O’Brien Press Ltd | 726 |
| 9 | Is There Anybody Out There? | O Briain, Dara | Scholastic | 721 |
| 10 | Beano Annual:2021 | D.C. Thomson & Co., | 699 |
