23 DECEMBER 1955, Page 28

THE, MOUNTAINS OF IRELAND. By D. D. C. Pochin Mould.

(Batsford, 21s.) ONE criticism only can be made of Dr. Pochin Mould's delightful book : that the photo- graphs are not in colour, and if the Irish mountains—particularly those of Connemara --have one claim to pro-eminence it is. in the kaleidoscope of colours that they provide on any showery day. Still, the photographs are admirable (though one or two, unless memory is playing me tricks, are wrongly captioned) and the author writes with an enjoyment that successfully recaptures the mountains' moods. Rural Ireland is a brief history of the back- ground and environment in which Muintir na Tire, a co-operative organisation based on the parish as its unit, has grown up in Ireland.