Mourne Country has been republished recently, much to the annoyance of anyone claiming to be an authority on this unique region. Since it first appeared the chapters have been heavily plagiarised by writers, researchers and students, increasingly so as second hand stocks grew sparse concealing the source material. Writing just before a time of major change Evan's incisive work slices through the Mournes, cleanly exposing the past. The elegiac prose underlain with scholarly research traces the formation of the landscape, its ever changing utilisation, and continues to assist our understanding of the land we now inhabit. Written in weekend bursts in what became known as the 'Bloody Cottage' because of its proximity to the Bloody Bridge river, the book illuminates many aspects of Mourne life, from submerged wrack beds to summit burial cairns and everything in between. I first read Mourne Country when the outline of the mountains were a familial yet far-off backdrop, revisiting the pages it is interesting to note how much has changed and how much is now familiar. The view of the hills from the little window where he watched "the coloured seasons climbing from the golden whins to the glowing heathers and the snows" remains, as does the cottage, now privately owned. In completing the accompanying illustration I became acutely aware of the need to accurately depict the sash windows, the precise slope of the roof, the surface render, a metal spike protruding from the wall and a hundred other things that Evans would have felt important, before adding a few sheep grazing in the laneway. By combining academic disciplines including geography, archaeology and anthropology with field research and local knowledge Evans tackled and resolved many issues, but never found a way to keep sheep out of his garden.