This book consists of a selection of essays from the late Sean O’Luing, gathered from a variety of sources, including many which appear in print for the first time. The connecting link between these essays, to a greater or lesser degree, is the Irish language, its vicissitudes, scholars, history and personalities. Ranging through the 19th and 20th centuries, they provide a cross sectional view of the European contribution to the rise of the modern Irish language. They bring into focus the individual achievements of outstanding workers in the service of scholarship of the language.

These essays are written from the perspective of a Gaeltacht man, who combined a career in the translation department of Dail Eireann with a significant contribution to the Irish language, biography and scholarship. Among the 18 essays are memoirs of William Maunsell Hennessy, Douglas Hyde, Robin Flower, Marie-Louise Sjoestedt, Carl Marstrander, Sean Og MacMurrough Kavannagh, Art O’Griofa, Seoirse MacTomais, Tim Enright, Kuno Meyer and R.A.S Macalister. Others are concerned with the national library, and a consideration of the present position of the Irish language. There is an important biographical memoir from the author and a wide ranging bibliography and analysis of the Irish language material compiled by his son Gearoid O’Luing. The book is published by Geography publications who published Seans biography of Kuno Meyer in 1991.