Ireland has a rich maritime heritage, and it is estimated that up to 15,000 shipwrecks may lie in Irish territorial waters. The Underwater Archaeology Unit of the Department of Environment Heritage & Local Government has spent the last 10 years quantifying Ireland’s maritime heritage and creating an archive of recorded incidences of wrecking around our coast. This has resulted in the production of a highly illustrated volume documenting over 3,000 vessels that were wrecked, prior to 1946, off the coast of counties Louth, Meath, Dublin and Wicklow. The information on wrecks was gathered from a broad range of cartographic, archaeological and documentary sources, and each entry in the Inventory gives information on the ship’s name, type of vessel, port of origin, owner’s name, cargo, date of loss and other relevant information where available. The Inventory has a detailed illustrated archaeological and historical introduction aimed at providing a narrative to the principal phases of the development of Ireland’s maritime heritage on the east coast. The Inventory also contains 11 illustrated narratives on wrecks where the loss of some of the more important ships are described in detail.

The Shipwreck Inventory of Ireland will appeal to both the specialist and the general reader and will be an essential reference guide to anybody interested in maritime affairs and Ireland's past. It should help raise awareness generally of the need to protect and record the many different elements of our maritime heritage and lead to a better understanding of the maritime history of the east coast of Ireland.