In Ireland, motorsport doesn't come any bigger than rallying. On any weekend of the year, rally cars will be in action somewhere on the Emerald Isle, watched by thousands of devoted followers. For them, nothing can touch the sight - or sound - of a Subaru or Ford Focus World Rally Car bounding over the bumps and crests of a country road in Donegal...or Cork... or Killarney. The phenomenon of rallying is the subject of a timely new book for Christmas entitled Keep Her Flying : Ireland's Rally Heroes written by Richard Young and just published by Appletree Press.

This celebration of Ireland's 'unofficial' national sport looks at the history - and the heroes - of the sport in Ireland, and tells the stories of the big names, many of whom went on to make a mark on the World Stage, including Paddy Hopkirk, Bertie Fisher, Ronnie and Dessie McCartney, Austin McHale, Andrew Nesbitt, Eugene Donnelly, Kris Meeke, Kevin Lynch and many more. The book is also crammed with high-spped photographs of the cars and drivers in action - many previously unpublished.

Author Richard Young is no stranger to the skill of driving speeding cars having been a three-time Irish Hill Climb Champion himself! So if anyone is qualified to tell the story of this very special group of racing heroes and their machines it is certainly Richard.