THE DIARY OF AN IRISH WATER BAILIFF, 1791-1809. JOHN MACKY, Inspector of Keepers on the river Bann. Edited by E.J. MALONE. De luxe limited edition bound in leather.

. 2008 1st edition - de luxe issue. 4to (180 x 260mm). Ppxxxiv,168. Illustrated with a colour photograph of The Judge salmon fly by Terry Griffiths, colour plate of the Bann Falls, b/w ills from photographs and old engravings, facsimiles of diary pages, fold-out map, silk marker. . Ppxxxvi,168. Full bound in red leather, bevelled edges, edges gilt, raised bands, mounted salmon fly inside front board.

This edition is limited to 60 copies, 50 of which are numbered 1 - 50 and ten i - x. This is one of the copies numbered 1 - 50. The book is full-bound in red leather with bevelled edges, all edges gilt, in matching cloth and leather slip-case. End-papers are hand-marbled paper, with a salmon fly, The Judge, tied by Peter Kealey, presented in a sunken mount inside the front board. The limitation page is signed by editor E.J. Malone, fly-tyer Peter Kealey and book-binder Ken Smith. The diaries of John Macky, Inspector of Rivers to Lady Hamilton, owner of much of the River Bann. Macky occupied the post from 1787 onwards. In 1798 the estate changed hands and a new, and thoroughly crooked, bailiff was appointed over Macky's head. Macky's "fears for his own position kept him from speaking out to anyone but his diary, telling of the actions of an unscrupulous employee and his family." Includes much on the daily life of the area around the Bann and its inhabitants in the years 1791 to 1809, and a detailed historical sketch of the Irish Society which now owns the fisheries of the lower Bann. "'The Judge' is an old Bann pattern (ca1850) which was devised by William Doherty of Bushmills ...a well-known tier for the river Bann and its tributaries. The fly was first recorded by Francis Francis in his Book on Angling (1867) as a fly for the river Bush." A splendid edition of a book which is both fascinating and an important part of Irish angling literature.