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There are many, many words for rain in Irish.
This richness reveals a closeness with which our ancestors observed the world around them. They believed that is maith an scéalaí an aimsir – weather is a good storyteller.
Here, Manchán Magan, whose hugely popular books Thirty-Two Words for Field and Listen to the Land Speak have re-enchanted a new generation, encourages you to see the world through the eyes of the néaladóirí (cloud-watchers) and réadóirí (stargazers) of our past who depended on birds, trees, animals, and markers on land and sea for signs of weather change.
Get ready to grasp an almost-lost world through the Irish language once again in this beautifully illustrated book.
Manchán Magan was a writer and documentary-maker. His groundbreaking book Thirty-Two Words for Field led the way for the recent revival of the Irish language. He wrote occasionally for the Irish Times, reported on travel for various radio programmes, and presented dozens of documentaries on issues of world culture for TG4, RTÉ and the Travel Channel. Manchán lived in an oak wood, with bees, hens, and occasionally pigs, in a grass-roofed house near Lough Lene, Co Westmeath. He passed away in October 2025.
Megan Luddy is an award-winning illustrator and artist. She is a graduate of NCAD, where she was Design Student of the Year in 2022. This is her first book.