This image of a quick random choice from my shelves represents a lot of what my country symbolises for me:
Celtic Ireland and the Book of Kells to indicate our pagan and christian origins
Poetry in the Irish language, represented by Michael Davitt’s final collection Seimeing Soir, published shortly before his untimely death
Poetry in the English language, represented by Seamus Heaney, now a Nobel Laureate
Reflections on a Life by Teresita Durkan, a woman of formidable intelligence who continues to represent a tradition of missionary work which goes back hundreds of years
An Irish Adventure with Food – one of the myriad of new food movements in Ireland in the last decade
Slanguage: an amusing and very true documentation of modern language development here
Irish in the Primary Schools: a report that analyses its current status
The RSA Rules of the Road: in my house because of those doing driving tests here. There is an enormous waiting list for tests for learner drivers, a fresh tightening up of laws: all part of the effort to deal with unacceptable levels of road accidents.

This choice was made in about five minutes. If I were to do it again I’d probably have a completely different set.