Books published by publisher The Collins Press

The story of the remarkable Tom Crean who ran away to sea aged 15 and played a memorable role in Antarctic exploration. He spent more time in the unexplored Antarctic than Scott or Shackleton, and outlived both. Among the last to see Scott alive, Crean was in the search party that found the frozen body. An unforgettable story of triumph over unparalleled hardship and deprivation.

This is the true story of Grace O’Malley, or Granuaile, who ruled on land and sea in Connaught over 400 years ago. A Pirate Queen and Chieftain, she became a legend. We meet Grace as a young girl on Ireland’s west coast. Her father is a strong chieftain and loves the sea. Despite her parents’ objections, Grace becomes a better sailor than any of her father’s crew and so the adventures of the Pirate Queen begin. We set sail on her galley to Spain where war with England affects Grace and Ireland. We meet her husbands, Donal of the Battles and Richard in Iron, and are on board ship for her son’s birth and pirate attacks. After many escapades we sail to London for her famous meeting with Queen Elizabeth I. And we stay with her in her castle at Rock Fleet where she dies in 1603. This non-fiction account is a must for children who love Irish history! Similar to: Michael Collins: Most Wanted Man by Vincent McDonnell and Tom Crean: Ice Man by Michael Smith.

Irishman Francis Crozier was a major figure in nineteenth-century polar exploration. His voyages with Parry, Ross and Franklin lifted the veil from the frozen wastes of the Arctic and Antarctic, paving the way for Amundsen, Scott and Shackleton. The Antarctic cape named after him was immortalised in Apsley Cherry-Garrard's The Worst Journey in the World. A failed romance drove him back to the ice one fatal last time with Franklin's North West Passage expedition in 1845. All 129 men perished. Crozier took command after Franklin's death and led the courageous battle to survive in the Arctic wilderness. In the bitter life-or-death struggle, which lasted for years, some even resorted to cannibalism. But, according to legend, Crozier was the last to die – the last man standing. • Also available: An Unsung Hero: Tom Crean

The sinking of the Titanic is the world’s most famous sea tragedy, with over 1,500 lives lost on that cold April night in 1912. The ship has since held a special mystery and fascination for young and old. This new account for children looks at why the ship was built and the dreams of those who built her. The story follows Titanic on her voyage from Europe towards the USA, and describes the collision with the iceberg and her dramatic sinking. It focuses on the people involved – the passengers and crew, survivors and doomed – and shows how some were brave and honourable but others were cowards. The rescue efforts are vividly narrated, as well as the aftermath of the tragedy and the finding of the wreck in the 1980s. The book also paints a picture of society at the time. It shows that the sinking of the Titanic was a watershed for society as a whole, and the end of an era when man believed he could conquer nature.

Hugh O’Flaherty, a cheerful Kerryman who loved sport, was in Rome in 1939 when the Second World War broke out. Unable to watch from the safe haven of the Vatican as people were arrested and sometimes killed, he set up an escape organisation for Allied POWs, Jews and others who needed help. The Gestapo chief, Kappler, had ordered Hugh be captured or killed, yet Hugh regularly donned disguises and ventured out in to the city. It was a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse between the Nazis and Hugh’s network of helpers, which included priests and nuns, communists, a Swiss count, British soldiers and the singer Delia Murphy. By the time the Allies freed the city, he had helped over 6,500 people. Written especially for children, this is based on the best-selling biography, The Vatican Pimpernel by Brian Fleming.

Island light is magical. And none more so than Ireland's. Ireland's light floods the landscape, luring the senses with a restless presence. The water surrounding and carving through the island reflects back to us the ever-changing movement of the wind-blown clouds and light. Stop for a minute and the settings change: what was straight is bent, light is dark, still is in motion. It is as though an unseen hand directs the wind, the clouds, and the light to harness our attention. Ireland: A Luminous Beauty is a collection of stunning full-colour photographs by some of Ireland's finest landscape photographers with concise text blending history, myth, and a sense of place. Many of the photographs were taken in the early morning light or as the sun set. That hour after sunrise and before sunset, with the sun low in the sky, is known to photographers as the golden hour and favoured for its soft, diffused light. We take a journey through one of the most beautiful places in the world.From the ancient stone monuments of the Boyne Valley to the perilous stone steps of Skellig Michael; from the distinctive columns of the Giant's Causeway and the spectacularly sited Dunluce Castle ruins to lush, green countryside and fields of heather; from the limestone of the Burren to exuberant stretches of flowers and gardens; from a moody sea and crashing surf to massive stone cliffs battered by the relentless pounding of the waves, and from steely rivers to tranquil lakes, it's all here.We respond to this dramatic environment by transforming it into one that solidifies and enriches our sense of place. We have this instinct to create our own space, and have made an art of it. Through the ancient, natural, and cultivated landscapes, surrounded by history and legend, discover and celebrate the spirit of Ireland and its luminous beauty.

This inspiring story of Ernest Shackleton, whose men called him 'The Boss', involved four expeditions to Antarctica between 1901 and 1922. His incredible adventures included a breathtaking march to within a few miles of the South Pole and the amazing saga of hardship and survival on the famous Endurance expedition. * Also by Michael Smith: Tom Crean, Ice Man.

Daniel O’Connell – ‘The Liberator’ – lived a big, great and graphic life. Born in Kerry in 1775, he witnessed some of the most pivotal events in European history: the Penal Laws, the French Revolution, the 1798 Rebellion and the Great Famine. In his struggle for Catholic emancipation, O’Connell achieved the first and most important step towards Irish freedom. He stormed into the House of Commons against the wishes of the Government and the King, smashing down the door that had denied Catholics a place in Parliament. One of the greatest legal men in Europe, he put fear into opponents, judges and the British establishment alike. He shot and killed a man in a deadly duel, fought against slavery and spent time in jail. He also struggled with his weight and his debts, and was sometimes very vain. With lively text and striking illustrations, this book brings Daniel O’Connell and his world to life.

Set during the First World War, Age 14 is a heartbreaking and powerful story about growing up quickly in the face of war. Twelve-year-old Patrick Condon wants to escape his impoverished and tedious life in Ballybricken, County Waterford, so he hatches a plan. Not wanting to wait until he is old enough to join at sixteen, Patrick gives the army the name, John, and age, seventeen, of his older brother, and is enlisted. In the army, Patrick, now John, makes friends easily. The man's world is just what he always desired; if only there was more action. John gets all the action he is looking for when the war breaks out following the murder of the Austrian Crown Prince in 1914. Before he knows it, he is training with bayonets but it is nearly a game so long as no blood is spilled. The battle seems so far away. But the war is very real, and it is only a matter of time before John is at the front of it all. Based on a true story, this faction is about dreams, about war and peace, and the lives lost to achieve both. It is about a young boy named Patrick, and named John, the adventure and glory he so craved, and the tragic way he achieved both.

Master storyteller Vincent McDonnell relates the exciting story of Ireland from the earliest times, as Stone Age settlers arrived 9,000 years ago, through to the present day. From the building of the mysterious and magnificent tombs, such as Newgrange, to the arrival of Christianity, Ireland’s history is unfolded: invasion first by the Vikings, then the Normans, and the beginning of English rule. Conquered by a foreign nation and brutally oppressed, devastated by the Great Famine, the Irish refused to yield and eventually won freedom.