Emma Byrne – författare

Swearing, it turns out, is an incredibly useful part of our linguistic repertoire. Not only has some form of swearing existed since the earliest humans began to communicate, but it has been shown to reduce physical pain, help stroke victims recover their language, and encourage people to work together as a team. Swearing Is Good For You is a spirited and hilarious defence of our most cherished dirty words, backed by historical case studies and cutting-edge research. From chimpanzees creating their own curse words to a man who lost half his brain in a mining accident experiencing a new-found compulsion to swear, Dr Emma Byrne outlines the fascinating science behind swearing: how it affects us both physically and emotionally, and how it is more natural and beneficial than we are led to believe.

Here is what science knows about childhood, so you can use the scientific method - be calm, be curious, be creative - to understand your human child in all their glorious, frustrating complexity.

'Byrne's book is about scientific parenting, and it is very welcome indeed ... breezy and digestible ... this is such a good book' Tom Whipple, The TimesKids aren't all the same. You can't follow instructions and expect success every time. So what if parents approached their children as questions to be answered and not problems to be solved? Scientist Emma Byrne takes evidence-based information on everything from physical and emotional development to what is really happening during sleep and separation anxiety, then shows how to apply it to the unique child in front of you. She challenges perceived wisdom by focusing on the variance as well as the mean - because your child is an individual, not an average. Like all good scientists, you're going to have a few missteps along the way. You'll reach dead ends; you'll need to wrack your brain for new approaches. But by staying curious, creative and paying attention to what's really happening with your family, Emma Byrne will help you figure it out. Just in time for everything to change once again.

A collection of Ireland’s greatest and best-loved ballads, including the lyrics, music and chords, along with an introductory piece on each song. Illustrated with photographs and woodcuts. A beautiful guide to the cream of the Irish ballad tradition.Songs of love, yearning, revolution, celebration, emigration, mourning, fun, famine, drinking and more. A collection of powerful yet beautiful ballads of Ireland, placed in and reflecting historical events and traditions. All have stood the test of time and present to the world the uniqueness of Irish history and her musical and revolutionary traditions.Including:Are You Right There Michael?Danny BoyKevin BarryI’ll Tell Me MaThe Irish RoverMolly MaloneThe Rare Old Mountain DewThe Rocky Road to DublinThe Rose of TraleeWhiskey in the JarBest-Loved Irish Ballads celebrates the songs and tradition of Irish music.

A celebration of Irish thatch.The picturesque, white-washed thatched cottage is an iconic emblem of Ireland.The tradition reaches back in history to the ancient crannóg and one-roomed labourers’ cottages. Beautiful examples of this still-living craft can be found all over the island, from bustling urban centres and quiet country roads to the wild coasts of the west.Since moving into a thatched cottage several years ago, Emma Byrne has become fascinated by thatched houses and the craft behind them. Armed with a camera, a notebook, and a Sat Nav, she took to the roads, travelling the length and breadth of this island to capture the variety and beauty of Ireland’s thatch. This beautiful new addition to the O'Brien Heritage series is a celebration of the unique beauty and wonder of Irish thatch. The book features a map guiding the reader to over 40 buildings that can be visited, including United Irishmen leader of the 1798 rebellion Michael Dwyer’s hideout cottage in County Wicklow; America’s 28th president Woodrow Wilson’s ancestral home in County Tyrone; Dan Winters Cottage in County Armagh where The Orange Order began; the last miner’s cottage in Kilkenny, the last fisherman’s cottage near Lough Neagh, Thoor Ballylee, the County Galway home of poet WB Yeats;  and a number of pubs, restaurants, art studios and shops around the country, museums (recently restored Casino Model Railway Museum in Malahide, Dublin) and windmills.

Surrounded on all sides by water, Ireland and its people have long been shaped by the sea.Ireland has a rich history of famous – and infamous – mariners: from our earliest navigators, who may have reached North America – by currach – a thousand years before Columbus, to daring polar explorers Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean.Read the stirring adventures of Ireland’s seafaring women, from Granuaile to Kate Tyrrell, and naval leaders such as John Barry, who fought sea battles in the Americas. Irish people have helped to shape marine science, including Francis Beaufort, who devised the scale by which we measure wind speeds, marine biologist Maude Delap and John Holland, inventor of the submarine.