when eamonn martin and gene lambert of clashganna mills met theo dorgan of poetry ireland in march 1989, what all had in mind was a project that would raise substantial funds while at the same time being a venture worthwhile in itself. out of that meeting came the first tentative idea of the great book. clashganna had previously produced a book, the land of punt, with paintings by lambert and poems by paul durcan. this new book, however, would be very different.