A German traveller's perception of Pre-famine Ireland. 
This is a snapshot of an Ireland that was about to vanish.  Two years after the publication of this book, the  Great Irish Famine ravaged the land, hastening the end of  Gaelic Ireland and the Irish  language.
Kohl's journey took him through the four provinces and the cities of Dublin, Limerick, Waterford and Belfast. He encountered such men as Daniel O'Connell and the great temperance campaigner, Father Mathew. He talked to beggars in their huts, gentry in their countryseats and men of religion. He visited monastic relics, archeological sites, linen factories steeple-chasing, and a range of diverse places, always reminding the readers of the poverty of the ordinary people, social injustices and the wretched conditions in the country. His commentaries are enlivened with information about the historic context and folklore associated with the locations he visited.
Clachan editors have carefully updated the text and added scholarly footnotes.