The seventh edition of Lonely Planet Ireland was compiled by a team of six authors, with Fionn Davenport, an Irishman, as co-ordinating author.
Dublin-born Davenport (37) has worked with Lonely Planet since 1997, and has previously contributed to its titles on Dublin, Italy, Sicily, England, Britain and, most recently, Ljubljana. Before joining Lonely Planet, he worked as travel editor with Fodor's, a publisher in New York.
Lonely Planet, which publishes over 500 titles in English, says its typical reader is aged between 25 and 34 and has a third-level qualification. "They travel on a mid-range budget, taking trips of one to three months' duration which combine adventure activity, relaxation and culture," a spokeswoman said.
When asked to explain the company's criteria for judging destinations, the spokeswoman said: "Essentially, we ask authors to visit every place... and to make a judgment call on whether it is the sort of place that our readers would enjoy: is it unique, is it good value, do people need to be warned away."