THE DIARY OF AN IRISH WATER BAILIFF, 1791-1809. JOHN MACKY, INSPECTOR OF KEEPERS ON THE RIVER BANN. Edited by E.J. MALONE.

2008 1st edition. 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. Buff buckram, spine titled in gilt.

A social history of Irish angling. 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.