His partner has a career-threatening gambling problem and, oh yeah, Bunny's finally been given a crack at the big time. He’s set the task of bringing down the most skilled and ruthless armed robbery gang in Irish history. So the last thing he needs in his life is yet another complication.Her name is Simone. She is smart, funny, talented and, well, complicated. When her shocking past turns up to threaten her and Bunny’s chance at a future, things get very complicated indeed. If the choice is upholding the law or protecting those he loves, which way will the big fella turn?Angels in the Moonlight is a standalone prequel to Caimh McDonnell’s critically acclaimed Dublin Trilogy, and it is complicated.

    The perfect couple in every way, Stella appears to have it all. Next door, at number 72 however, lives Rea Brady. Gruff, bad-tempered and rarely seen besides the twitching of her net curtains, rumour has it she’s lost it all…including her marbles if you believe the neighbourhood gossip.But appearances can be deceiving and when Stella and Rea’s worlds collide they realise they have much in common. Both are trapped in a prison of their own making.Has help been next door without them realising it? With the warmth and wit of Maeve Binchy and the secrets and twists of Liane Moriarty, this is the utterly original and compelling new novel from Irish Times bestseller Carmel Harrington. Praise for The Woman at 72 Derry Lane: ‘I both cried and laughed…one of the best books I have ever read’ Woman’s Way‘Both heart-wrenching and uplifting. The perfect summer read’ Irish Times bestseller Fionnuala Kearney

    Fighting to keep her two remaining children alive against all odds, Kitty must decide how far she will go to save her family.Present dayArriving in Ballymor, Maria is researching her ancestor, Victorian artist Michael McCarthy – and his beloved mother, the mysterious Kitty who disappeared without a trace. Running from her future, it’s not only answers about the past that Maria hopes to find in Ireland. As her search brings her closer to the truth about Kitty’s fate, Maria must make the biggest decision of her life.

    The Carney farmhouse is a hive of activity with preparations for the annual harvest. A day of hard work on the land and a traditional night of feasting and celebrations lie ahead. But this year they will be interrupted by a visitor.Developed by Sonia Friedman Productions, The Ferryman premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in April 2017, before transferring to the West End. The production was directed by Sam Mendes.

    Covering themes ranging from love and death to sex and politics, there's a story about a girl from Tipp being kicked out of ISIS, a van powered by Cork people's accents and a man who drags a fridge on his back through Limerick.

    He's hoping that three months researching an old cable station in a remote village on the south-west coast of Ireland will help him and his traumatised son finally move on from the accident that killed his wife.Meanwhile local hotel owner's daughter Annie Sullivan has communication problems of her own to deal with. Home on sabbatical from her life in London, she's keeping a secret from her dysfunctional family and trying to save them and the hotel from their latest drama.As summer draws to a close in Ballyanna, both Dan and Annie are forced to confront the pasts they've been escaping. But will they be able to grasp the future that lies ahead? The Summer Visitors is a heart-warming story about love, second chances and moving on.

    You've sowed the seed of Satan. You are nothing.'Mary Creighton was just 15 when she found herself pregnant out of wedlock, in 1960s Ireland. She dreamed of a happy life with her child, but that was shattered when she was sent away to Castlepollard - a home for mothers and their unborn babies.Stripped of their clothes and forced into gruelling work whilst pregnant, those who survived childbirth were made to force-feed their children for adoption into wealthy families. Babies were ripped out of their mother's hands, but Mary refused to let that happen to her. She managed to escape only to later lose her beautiful daughter to social services and the meddling nuns... who always managed to catch up with her. After spending time in an infamous Magdalene Laundry, and having another two children snatched away, Mary sought to find her lost children, and demand answers for the atrocities committed supposedly in God's name.This is a haunting account of a mother's worst nightmare, as Mary continues to fight for justice for the mothers who suffered there and the babies of Castlepollard: hundreds of which died and are still buried in the grounds today.

    Suddenly out of work and soon to be homeless, they set off in search of a new life in Ireland, a country they had never visited. As their adventure began to unfold, not everything went according to plan. If finding their dream house was difficult, buying it seemed almost impossible. How would they cope with banks that didn’t want customers, builders who didn’t need work, or the complex issue of where to buy some chickens?

    When they are thrown together in a Dublin brothel in a horrific twist of fate, a peculiar and important bond is formed . . .This is a novel about a flourishing but hidden world, thinly concealed beneath a veneer of normality. It’s about the failings of polite society, the cruelty that can exist in apparently homely surroundings, the bluster of youth and the often appalling weakness of adults.Harvesting is heartbreaking and funny, gritty, raw and breathtakingly beautiful, where redemption is found in friendship and unexpected acts of kindness.Harvesting was inspired by Harding’s involvement with a campaign against sex trafficking run by the Children’s Rights Alliance. Although it is a fictionalised account, the text has been read and approved of by representatives for NGOs in both Moldova and Dublin.

    As the title suggests, 'Motherfoclóir' takes an irreverent, pun-friendly and contemporary approach to the Irish language. The translations are expanded on and arranged into broad categories that allow interesting connections to be made, and sprinkled with anecdotes and observations about Irish and Ireland itself, as well as language in general. The author includes stories about his own relationship with Irish, and how it fits in with the most important events in his life. This is a book for all lovers of the quirks of language.

    Barely eight years old, Rosie joins the throng of servants preparing for the arrival of Queen Victoria. But while the royal visit is a coup for Ennismore, a chance meeting on the grounds proves even more momentous for Rosie.Victoria Bell, Lord and Lady Ennis's young daughter, is desperately lonely. Though the children of the gentry seldom fraternize with locals, Lord Ennis arranges for Rosie to join in Victoria's school lessons. For Rosie, the opportunity is exhilarating yet isolating. Victoria's governess and aunt, Lady Louisa, objects to teaching a peasant girl. The other servants resent Rosie's escape from the drudgery of life below stairs. Bright, strong-willed Rosie finds herself caught between her own people and the rarefied air of Ennismore--especially as she grows closer to Victoria's older brother, Valentine.As they near womanhood, the girls' friendship is interrupted. Victoria is bound for a coming out season in Dublin, and Rosie must find a way to support her family. But Ireland is changing too. The country's struggle for Home Rule, the outbreak of the Great War, and a looming Easter rebellion in Dublin all herald a new era. Not even Ennismore can escape unscathed. And for Rosie, family loyalty, love, friendship and patriotism will collide in life-changing ways, leading her through heartbreak and loss in search of her own triumphant independence.

    It is a family story of war and love, and how the ghosts of the past return to shape the present.Wounds is a powerful memoir about Irish people who found themselves caught up in the revolution that followed the 1916 Rising, and in the pitiless violence of civil war in north Kerry after the British left in 1922.It is the story of Keane’s grandmother Hannah Purtill, her brother Mick and his friend Con Brosnan, and how they and their neighbours took up guns to fight the British Empire and create an independent Ireland. And it is the story of another Irishman, Tobias O’Sullivan, who fought against them as a policeman because he believed it was his duty to uphold the law of his country.Many thousands of people took part in the War of Independence and the Civil War that followed. Whatever side they chose, all were changed in some way by the costs of violence. Keane uses the experiences of his ancestral homeland in north Kerry to examine why people will kill for a cause and how the act of killing reverberates through the generations.

     Boston 1868...At the insistence of her parents, sixteen-year-old Katie O'Neil reluctantly left her beloved Galway. She joined her cousin, Moira Murphy to work as a nanny and domestic. In mid-nineteenth century Boston, Irish domestics were often referred to as Kitchen Canaries and considered property of their employers. The young women are violated by their employer, Charles Brennan. Their shame and guilt is so great, they keep the abuse a secret even from each. When Katie becomes pregnant, Charles Brennan's victims, Moira, his wife Rose, and the negro household help, bond together to hide the newborn. In this post-Civil War era, Boston is bustling with change as wealthy Englishmen and Boston Brahmins expand world trade routes, build railroads and develop land. Immigrants from Ireland, Italy and Poland establish neighborhoods, existing in overcrowded, disease-ridden shacks and tenements. They, and negroes flocking North, suffer hate, humiliation and rejection from the establishment. The only value they have to the rich Bostonians is their willingness to work for little money performing menial or back-breaking, dangerous jobs on the docks, and building railroads. This story is about the goodness of others, black, white, Irish and English whose strength prevails to overcome evil and guide Katie and Moira to true redemption. The sequel, Through the Open Door is now available.

    However, over the following eight years, he exposed gross incompetence and corruption within An Garda Siochána. It ranged from a violent criminal being free to murder, to country-wide corruption in the policing of road safety.Along the way he paid a terrible price, enduring vilification, bullying and harassment by forces who wanted to silence him and his inconvenient truths. Worse still were the rumours of an extreme nature, which had a devastating effect on his whole family.McCabe's actions ultimately led to some of the biggest reforms of An Garda Siochána since the foundation of the state, caused major political upheaval, and culminated in a Tribunal established in 2017, to examine whether there had been a smear campaign against him within the force.A Force For Justice reveals the story behind the scenes, of one man struggling to survive in the most challenging of circumstances. It is a dramatic account of a garda sergeant's journey from a rural outpost into the heart of the Irish political and legal system.

    But years have passed, and Sheen needs answers to the questions he has surrounding his brother’s death. He is on loan from the Met to the PSNI under the belief he will be helping set up a new Historical Offences Team in Northern Ireland. On arrival to Ireland, plans change and he finds himself partnered with newly promoted DC Aoife McCusker to work on her first appointed murder investigation. John Fryer, an IRA veteran, has recently escaped from a mental asylum. Sheen thinks Fryer was involved in the killing of his brother, and is now after him. His escape throws him into the path of deranged and dangerous Christopher Moore, and the two begin to work together to execute chaos. As the investigation begins to unravel, Fryer and Moore’s relationship is compromised. But will Sheen be able to put his personal agenda aside? And will McCusker keep her career long enough to crack the case and prove herself as a detective? Set in contemporary Belfast, Blood Will Be Born is the first book of a captivating crime thriller series that delves deep in to the dark and political past of Belfast.

    Everyone said my head was cut. It was the summer of Live Aid and Bob Geldof pledged to save Africa from hunger. My ambitions were more modest. I wanted to stop the violence between Catholics and Protestants in Belfast.’ Driven by the conviction that things can change and that he can change them, Tony Macaulay takes up a job running a youth club in the staunchly nationalist New Lodge, an area known as Murder Mile, with youth unemployment at 90 per cent.Challenge enough you might think, but it’s also a requirement of the job that Tony, a Protestant from the Shankill Road, and his wife Lesley live in the local community.As the realities of life in a working-class republican community start to hit home, Tony’s idealism and faith are pushed to the limit. Inspiring, heart-breaking, and often laugh-out-loud funny, this is the story of how one couple kept the faith in a little house on the peace line.

    After she makes sure her younger sister is secure, she travels west to become a mail-order bride in Jubilee Springs, CO. Not only is she shocked at the size of the tiny mining town, the men she’s matched with make her second guess her decision. One potential groom is much too unsophisticated and the other much too discerning--even if he’s the one who makes her feel safe. Mine Manager Declan MacNeill prides himself on following rules to the letter. Initially resistant to the upcoming bride event, he remembers his short marriage in Ireland and realizes what he’s been missing. His first sight of his potential bride sets his protective instincts on high alert. Everything about her behavior indicates she’s keeping secrets. And Declan is determined on finding out why.

    Published to coincide with the centenary of the Easter Rising, this comprehensive and visually compelling volume brings together all of the current research on the revolutionary period, with contributions from leading scholars from around the world and from many disciplines. A chronological and thematically organized treatment of the period serves as the core of the Atlas, enhanced by over 400 color illustrations, maps and photographs. This academic tour de force illuminates the effects of the Revolution on Irish culture and politics, both past and present, and animates the period for anyone with a connection to or interest in Irish history.

    She and the rest of her family could only watch as the injury slowly worsened. The night before Jimmy died, Nellie ran through their small Irish town to make sure everyone was gathered at their house. Through the dark and the mist, she spotted a tall man in a long coat—a man who looked eerily similar to the grandfather that had passed away years ago.Decades later, Nellie tells her grandson of her midnight run down Passage Road. As she reflects on the accident that claimed Jimmy’s life, she must acknowledge her own mortality and the empty space that death leaves behind.

    Love and resentment. A community divided.No one in Carniskey has ever truly understood what led Sean Delaney, a seasoned local fisherman, to risk his life in a high storm in the dead of night. Now, three years on from that tragic night, his wife Alison is still struggling with her unresolved grief and increasing financial worries.After three difficult years, Alison has grown distant from her daughter and estranged from her friends and fellow villagers, particularly her best friend Kathleen who harbours a deeply guarded secret of her own. Isolated by its stunning yet often cruel surroundings, this is a community used to looking after its own but the arrival of an outsider – artist and lifelong nomad, William – offers Alison a new perspective on life and love that threatens to unearth the mysteries of the past. A story of courage and enduring humanity, Finding Alison follows the community through their struggles in love, loss and betrayal, each coming to understand that only in truth can we find the peace and liberation essential for true happiness. ''A story of love, loss and liberation that will keep you captivated to the last page''– Carmel Harrington

    It's A Historopedia ! Buckle up and get ready to travel back in time with John and Fatti Burke's new adventure through Ireland's history. This breathtakingly exciting book discovers Ireland, era by era, as you've never seen it before.Time travellers of any age will be totally absorbed by Fatti Burke's detailed illustrations and her father John's fabulous facts to be discovered on every page.A perfect introduction to Ireland's history for young and old, this illustrated journey travels from earliest settlements right up to the present day. Take a trip through time and meet courageous Celts, rampaging Vikings and rebellious republicans. Historopedia looks at wars and disasters; introduces artists, explorers and leaders; and shows us castles, cottages and tenements.You'll discover how we lived, what we ate, what we wore and even what school was like! And it doesn't neglect the imagination: here, too, are mythical figures and TV characters, alongside world-changing inventions borne from the minds of Irish scientists and explorers.So, time travellers, are you ready to go on the adventure of a lifetime?

    This could represent a serious loss to the nation.’Irish Government Report, June 1969Nature in Ireland is disappearing at an alarming rate. Overfishing, industrial-scale farming and pollution have decimated wildlife habitats and populations. In a single lifetime, vast shoals of herring, rivers bursting with salmon, and bogs alive with flocks of curlew and geese have all become folk memories. Coastal and rural communities are struggling to survive; the foundations of our tourism and agricultural sectors are being undermined. The lack of political engagement frequently sees the state in the European Court of Justice for environmental issues. Pádraic Fogarty authoritatively charts how this grim failure to manage our natural resources has impoverished our country.But all is not lost: he also reveals possibilities for the future, describing how we can fill our seas with fish, farm in tune with nature, and create forests that benefit both people and wildlife. He makes a persuasive case for the return of long-lost species like wild boar, cranes and wolves, showing how the interests of the country and its nature can be reconciled.A provocative call to arms, Whittled Away presents an alternative path that could lead us all to a brighter future.

    Faction fighting has left the parish of Doon divided between the followers of the Bradys and the Donnellans. Caitriona Brady is the widow of John, the Brady champion, killed two years ago. Matched with John aged eighteen, Caitriona didn’t love him and can’t mourn him. Now John’s mother is dead, too, and Caitriona is free to marry again.Michael Warner is handsome, loves her, and he hasn’t allied himself with either faction. But what secret is he keeping from her? Is he too good to be true?

    She was suspended and nine of her co-workers walked out in support. They all assumed they would shortly return to work. But theirs were kindling voices, on the cusp of igniting a mass movement they couldn’t even imagine. Despite harassment from the Gardaí and disparagement from the Irish government and even the Catholic Church, they refused to be silenced. Within months they were embroiled in a dispute that captured the world’s attention.In this searing account, Mary tells the extraordinary story of their public fight for justice, as well as her emotive journey of discovery into her family’s past. Mary’s mother had been forced to carry a secret burden of shame for her whole life by the same oppressive establishment Mary was fighting. 'Striking Back' is a provocative and inspiring story that epitomises the resilience of hope and the human spirit, even under the most formidable of circumstances. It shows that each of us has the power to change the world.

    Each of these tiny stories was inspired by an event, an overheard conversation, a piece of art or just a fleeting glance of something worth thinking about further.Collected in one volume, Carson's postcards present a panoramic view of contemporary Belfast -- its coffee shops, streets and museums and airports -- and offer it to the wider world. Even as they seem to spring from a writer's solitary perspective, taken together, these observations and their distribution speak of human connectedness. Like a pleasant surprise in the mail, this collection reminds us how many friendships are born and strengthened in a story shared.Illustrated by Benjamin Phillips.

    These 20 stories are beautiful, sad and funny.

    Still haunted by a traumatic memory in which his father committed a murderous act of violence, he struggles to find his place in the foreign city.Plagued by his past, Theo is gradually drawn deeper into the world of Dublin’s feared criminal gangs, plagued by racism, fear and drugs. But a chance encounter in a restaurant with Deirdre offers him a lifeline.Joined together through survival instincts Theo and Deirdre’s tender friendship is however soon threatened by tragedy. Can they confront their addictions to carve a future out of the catastrophe that engulfs both their lives?Clar expertly aligns countries and cultures in this spellbinding and tough novel. Drawing on authentic inspiration the tumultuous settings come alive as you are drawn into the multi-faceted lives of Theo and Deirdre.What Reviewers and Readers Say:'Clar's book is a gripping thriller which manages to bring two very different worlds into synergy. She succeeds in creating a truly three dimensional African protagonist - a rare thing in popular fiction - helping us to feel both compassion and frustration at Theo's choices.' Celeste Hicks'A fast-paced, powerful and emotional novel deftly crafted and shot through with insight, empathy and poetic beauty. As worlds collide, a gripping story of belonging, identity, memory, culpability and forgiveness unfolds, creating a poignant and profound novel for our times'. Deborah Andrews, author of 'Walking the Lights''Powerful, thought-provoking, and at times horrifying; yet also a compelling story of friendship against all the odds.' Nick Brownlee'Sex, drugs and....Irish poetry meets deep Africa in the most unusual of settings. This visceral novel's imagery will stay with you for a while.' Rosie Garthwaite'With the same assured touch that we saw in her debut novel, Clár Ní Chonghaile here weaves a vivid, moving but never sentimental tale, with deft characterisation, luminous detail and generous flashes of humour. From the very first page I knew I was in good hands.' Léan Cullinan, author of 'The Living''It is undoubtedly a clever novel, a novel that explains much while keeping forward momentum.' Joules Barham, Northern Reader'Rain falling on everyone suggests that death and misfortune are indiscriminate but it is how we deal with the vagaries of nature and life that gives the individual hope and control over their future.' Rich Jones, Rich Reviews'Rain Falls On Everyone was a unique and deeply touching novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.' Pages and Print'This is such an impressive book... It was a pleasure to read and can highly recommend it!' Butterfly in the Sky

    Abandoned by her family for the new world, she receives a proposal from the island's aging tailor. For the price of a roof over her head, she accepts.Meanwhile the island is alive with gossip about the strangers who have arrived from the mainland, armed with mysterious equipment which can reportedly steal a person's words and transmit them through thin air. When Nuala is sent to cook for these men - engineers, who have been sent to Rathlin by Marconi to conduct experiments in the use of wireless telegraphy - she encounters an Italian named Gabriel, who offers her the chance to equip herself with new skills and knowledge. As her friendship with Gabriel opens up horizons beyond the rocky and treacherous cliffs of her island home, Nuala begins to realise that her deal with the tailor was a bargain she should never have struck.

    Over the past year, Garrett Carr has travelled this border, on foot and by canoe, to uncover a landscape with a troubled past and an uncertain future. Across this thinly populated line, travelling down hidden pathways and among ancient monuments, Carr encounters a variety of characters who have made the frontier their home. He reveals the turbulent history of this landscape and changes the way we look at nationhood, land and power.The book incorporates Carr's own maps and photographs.

    His search for the truth ends in a raucous gun battle between thirty ships, while the majority of the pueblo remains positioned on the beach, defending an ancient tradition. In the fray, a bunch of dysfunctional expats fight to keep their dreams of living in the sun alive. This enigmatic novel oozes glimpses of no-bull-truth, revealing the naked underbelly of being an expat living on the Costa Blanca. This raw novel stirs up a paella of murderous gangsters, eccentric Indian bar owners, a sociopathic hotel owner and a quirky xenophobic cop. The brutal murder of a young English woman - turned prostitute, forbidden love, a donkey named Pedro, and out of work sixty-something-gossipmongers ensconced in the local bar - paint a colourful, ragtag, group of characters. If you're not cringing, you're laughing and wondering, what the hell next?When I moved to Spain twelve years ago, I imagined the expats would be affluent go-getters searching for something new and strange. I pictured intellectuals working on books about their exotic travels and painting watercolour scenes of beach barbeques, backlit by the blue Mediterranean. All while discussing this evening’s meeting at the amateur dramatic society over chilled sangria and various tapas.Instead I was faced with desperate people chasing after the same crumbs, associating with English people they would normally avoid back in the UK. I never thought I would meet Romanian gangsters, British smugglers, property scammers, drug dealers, slave traded prostitutes and murderers. However, they all sat in my local bar wearing cheap flip flops and sawn off clothes. All of them blended in with the latest holiday makers. But this isn’t my story; this is Danny's.I first saw Danny running through the car park of our neighbourhood adjacent to the beach. He was flamboyantly dressed as El Zorro and chasing a breast-heavy woman in her fab-fifties as she desperately clutched a freshly baked baguette and skilfully jogged in her fluffy flip flops.

    When an unforeseen tragedy takes him from her, she is compelled to face the demons she has been running from all these years. She has come full circle, and with nothing left now but her memories and her knowing, the need for revenge scratches inside her veins. Lady Beth is an urban thriller.

    McCaughan’s engaging prose is a joy to read. Discover the Sex Pistols’ connection with Cúil Aodha and many another startling fact about the Irish language. This journey towards a homecoming will touch many hearts.’ Joseph O'ConnorThis is the story of Michael McCaughan’s journey around Ireland and the Irish language. From a surreal start involving dedicated listening to Raidió na Gaeltachta’s death notices, to rediscovering the soul of the language through immersing himself in Phil Lynott’s music – all without becoming a Gaelbore – Coming Home will make you want to follow in his footsteps and strike out in search of the grá.

     Sive and Dan Gallagher are devoted to each other. Living the dream in a beautiful old house that Sive has spent the last few years restoring. Set on the grounds of the house is Sive’s haven, an artist’s studio built for her by Dan. Dan’s business is going from strength to strength and they are doing very well financially - or at least that’s what Sive believes. But their marriage is tested to its very core when Dan has a car accident. As Dan fights to recover, Sive unravels a trail of deceit and financial chaos that has the power to destroy them. The comfortable life Sive has grown accustomed to evaporates. Sive’s life is further complicated by Dan’s mother, a formidable woman who rules her clan with an iron fist and has little time for Sive, who she thinks is in a cult because of her bohemian lifestyle, a cult she blames for her son’s downward spiral. But as Sive puts the pieces together, she learns the Gallagher clan are hiding a secret, one that will change all of them forever…

    bumps into some tourists taking selfies at Trinity College... and even beats a Viking ship in a race!Will he ever catch up with the President to deliver his glasses in time?A witty and stylish celebration of Dublin, the President and one very determined pigeon from an exciting new talent in picture books, Peter Donnelly.

     He has played in World Cups and FA Cup finals; shared a dressing room with football greats like Roy Keane, Alan Shearer and Robbie Keane and worked under celebrated managers like Kenny Dalglish, Bobby Robson and Martin O’Neill. But Shay has had to show courage and strength of mind to get where he wanted in life. At four years old, he cruelly lost his mother to cancer at the age of just 41. Mum Agnes’s dying wish was that Dad Seamus would keep the family together. Seamus kept his word and the Given clan watched with pride as Shay forged a record-breaking career in the sport he loved. From Donegal to Saipan, Glasgow to Wembley and Tyneside to Paris, it’s been some journey. Shay has seen it all. Glorious highs and desperate lows. Dressing room wind-ups and team-bonding punch-ups. Brutal injuries and crippling self-doubt. Along the way, he has made so many friends. When one of his closest pals, Gary Speed, died suddenly in 2011, he was devastated. He played on, doing the only thing he knew to get him through the pain – pulling on a shirt and a pair of gloves. Shay loves football – for him, nothing can beat the buzz of a Saturday afternoon or the thrill of a big match night under lights. But he has never lost touch with the fans who make the game what it is. Entertaining, opinionated and inspirational, his long-awaited autobiography ANY GIVEN SATURDAY features a stellar cast of famous football names from the past 25 years. It tugs at the heart strings, bubbles with banter and lets slip secrets behind the big stories. This is a rare journey behind the scenes as told by one of our own.

    The Jesus of O’Connell Street reflects on his situation, which isn’t half bad. A too-young girl witnesses her father’s shocking infidelity. A quiet murder on a riverbank.Imperfect lovers and unlikely friends thwart and bolster each other as they act out their dramas on the beaches of Brazil, in the bedrooms of Dublin, and in the wilds of North America. With prose both lyrical and profound, the award-winning Nuala O’Connor writes of maternal love and cross-generational friendship but here, also, are stories of ageing, suicide, and the buoyancy of new love.In these urgent, humane stories of ill-advised couplings, loneliness and burgeoning hope, we find O’Connor’s trademark humour and sensuality, and the quest for longed-for truths.A truly stunning collection by one of Ireland’s finest writers.

    Kilkenny were beaten in that final by Tipperary but Tyrrell’s inner-most thoughts from his diary, both in the lead-up to, and after the game, provide the narrative to a compelling life story. His unique insights paint the picture of a relentless individual and a relentless team – the most successful side in the history of Irish male sport. The intrigue and aura around Kilkenny coach Brian Cody and his players was always heightened because very little ever emerged from the camp, or the dressing room. Now, for the first time, Tyrrell opens a unique window into the elite mindset and attitude which forged such unprecedented success. Tyrrell’s own journey is chronicled with brutal and unwavering honesty. The hurling legend’s constant drive to be a winner with his beloved county have pushed him towards breaking point many times. Tyrrell operates somewhere between obsessed and maniacal. On the pitch, he displayed the ruthless mentality of an assassin but behind it all, he had to conquer crippling self-doubt and fear. It took until his fourth successive All-Ireland final for Tyrrell to believe he had finally arrived as a senior inter-county hurler, going on to become one of the most feared and respected defenders in the game.

    Rebellions were rising across the countryside, and the English could be cruel overlords. However, this brutality hadn’t reached the country estate of Strokestown.Theodosia Latimer and her grandfather Reginald, were on a mission to discover the past. They were determined to excavate some ancient mounds on their estate. But when they discovered an imprisoned goddess straight out of Ireland’s rich mythological history, they were both dumbfounded and frightened.Tasked with integrating this primeval warrior woman into polite society, they developed both respect and fear for the powerful goddess. Would they be able to tame her lust for violence in the upcoming rebellion? Or would they fall victim to it?

    In 2003, he helped Tyrone to its first-ever All-Ireland championship win, and was named an All-Star. He was, by any measure, one of the best and most promising young footballers in Ireland.But in March 2004, Cormac McAnallen died suddenly of an undetected heart condition. He was, truly, a young star cut down just as he entered his prime. As he worked his way up through the ranks of club, school and inter-county football, Cormac almost always had his brother Dónal - just a year older - by his side. Nobody else in the world knew as well as Dónal did how badly Cormac wanted to succeed, how hard he worked, or how much thought he put into his game.In The Pursuit of Perfection, Dónal McAnallen draws upon Cormac's diaries and frank self-assessments, and his own memories of their experiences, to create a remarkable portrait of a young sportsman's mindset and methods. It is both one of the most remarkable GAA books ever written and - in its intimacy and depth - a book that transcends Gaelic games.'Exceptional ... Unique and compelling, raw and moving ... Much better than any myth or legend' Paul Rouse, Irish Examiner'A touching, sometimes bracing biography ... It feels like a final word, the family's last say on how he lived and how he died and how he ought to be remembered.' Malachy Clerkin, Irish Times'Beautifully told' Dermot Crowe, Sunday Independent'Stirs something deep around the concept of brotherhood' Belfast Telegraph'Heart-rending ... It is a painstakingly researched work - aided by the fact that both brothers kept meticulous diaries - and what's striking about the story is the pressure that Cormac was under despite or maybe because of his success with Tyrone' Sunday World

    After unceremoniously being laid off from his job at the paper after thirty-seven-years, he thinks he finally has time to write that book. As his writer’s block continues, he spends his time gardening and brewing his own beer. One day, he notices someone has been stealing peas in his garden in the idyllic Irish countryside. Only meaning to scare them off, he accidentally shoots someone in the dark in his patch. Following them to the Hawthorn tree, there is a wailing girl up there dressed in strange, ripped clothing who doesn’t appear to understand him or have the ability to speak except in strange noises. Curiosity wins out after he drops her off at the hospital and he goes back to visit her. This strange, wild girl cannot speak and doesn’t know what food is when it’s presented to her. Thinking she appeared in his tree as a shrieking banshee for a reason, Liam claims her and brings her home. He thinks he can help her and teach her to speak and she can help him by giving him the book he knows is inside him.

    I close my eyes and wonder how many girls will come to my funeral.’Vincent Patrick Duffy has already checked out. Trapped between Skintown’s narrow horizons, he chops ribs and chickens in a takeaway, dreaming of escape, joint after freshly rolled joint. A mindless act of kindness leads to the unlikeliest of business opportunities. Where the government has failed, might the second summer of love and a little pill with a dove on it be the broom to sweep away the hatred and replace it with love, so much love? Skintown is Vinny’s drink- and drug-fuelled odyssey through fighting, fishing, rioting, romance, reconciliation and acid house. Bristling with a restless energy and drunk on black humour, this superb debut is a wild ride.

    Thousands of unarmed demonstrators fought extended pitched battles against heavily-armed police. Unemployed workers and, indeed, whole working-class communities, dug trenches and built barricades to hold off the police assault. The event became known as the Outdoor Relief Riot—one of a very few instances in which class sympathy managed to trump sectarian loyalties in a city famous for its divisions.

    Robert White, a prolific observer of IRA and Sinn Féin activities, has amassed an incomparable body of interview material from leading members over a thirty-year period. In this defining study, the interviewees provide extraordinary insights into the complex motivations that provoked their support for armed struggle, their eventual reform, and the mind-set of today’s ‘dissidents’ who refuse to lay down their arms. Those interviewed stem from every stage of the Provisionals’ history, from founding figures such as Seán Mac Stiofáin, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Joe Cahill to the new generation that replaced them: Martin McGuinness, Danny Morrison, and Brendan Hughes among others. 'Out of the Ashes' is a pioneering history that breaks new ground in defining how the Provisionals operated, caused worldwide condemnation, and were transformed by constitutional politics.

    Too young to understand the repercussions of this act of brutality, Muthu knows only that her two older sisters are given special treatment while she is forced to sell rotis on the dusty roadside, dreaming of escape. When the family find themselves destitute and living by the side of the railway station, Muthu is sold to The Great Raman Circus of Chennai. Her father convinces her that this is the only way to help free her family from poverty, and in her innocence Muthu imagines that with her extraordinary contortionist abilities she will become a star, just like all her Bollywood idols. Muthu’s hopes for glamour and excitement are short lived, as she is transported into a world of misery and abuse. After several years of enslavement, she plans her escape with her friend Gloria, convinced that they can make it on their own in Mumbai, the City of Dreams. Will Muthu succeed in making her name as the Elastic Girl or will her dreams turn into a nightmare? This poignant tale draws attention to the plight of child performers in India, and on the horrors of child trafficking, but as Muthu tries to make sense of her existence, readers will discover the true strength of the “Elastic Girl.”

    . . On a perfect July evening in the sizzling Irish summer of 1976, fifteen-year-old Festival Queen Lilly Brennan disappears. Thirty-seven years later, as the anniversary of Lilly's disappearance approaches, her sister Jacqueline returns to their childhood home in Blackberry Lane. There she stumbles upon something that reopens the mystery, setting her on a search for the truth a search that leads her to surprising places and challenging encounters.Jacqueline feels increasingly compelled to find the answer to what happened to Lilly all those years ago and finally lay her ghost to rest. But at what cost? For unravelling the past proves to be a dangerous and painful thing, and her path to the truth leads her ever closer to a dark secret she may not wish to know.

    Written by acclaimed novelist and radical activist Peadar O'Donnell (1893-1986), this no-holds-barred memoir has been out of print for more than half a century. It combines lucid political analysis with colourful detail that brings to life some of the dramatic events and key personalities of the nationwide struggle that was launched after mass in a Donegal churchyard and led eventually to teh teraing up of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. This volume also contains an eloquent biographical tribute to Peadar from his close friend and political associate, Donal Donnelly, author of Prisoner 1082.

    Walenty Nikodemski, a Polish sailor, who lives in the shadow of Russian wars and religious conflict, enters the Shamrock Hotel where she works. Mary feels his jade black eyes seeing right through her to her very soul. He pierces her heart. Family, faith and humour shape Mary as she struggles with grief, her violent Ireland and uncertain love. Encased in detailed historical events and settings, Mary’s Ireland enshrines the human capacity to confront adversity and flourish within it, turning donkeys into racehorses. Mary’s Ireland is the first book in a series of three. It is to be followed by Mary’s Poland and Mary’s War.

    Encroachment on the liberties of the Irish lords by the English crown caused Hugh O'Neill, earl of Tyrone, to build an unprecedented confederation of Irish lords leading a new Irish military armed with pike and shot. This book is an important reassessment of the military dimensions of the Nine Years War, as situated in the wider context of European political and military history. Backed by Philip II of Spain, Tyrone and his allies outclassed the forces of the English Crown, achieving a string of stunning victories and bringing the power of Elizabeth I in Ireland to the brink of collapse. The opening shots were fired in Ulster, but from 1593 to 1599 war engulfed all of Ireland. The conflict consumed the lives and reputations of Elizabeth's court favourites as they struggled to cope with the new Irish way of war. Sophisticated strategy and modern tactics made the Irish war appear unwinable to many in England, but Lord Mountjoy's arrival as deputy in 1600 changed everything. Mountjoy reformed the demoralized English army and rolled back the advances achieved by Tyrone. Mountjoy's success was crowned by his shattering defeat of Tyrone and his Spanish allies at Kinsale in 1601, which ultimately led to the earl's submission in 1603, though not before famine, misery and atrocity took their toll on the people of Ireland. This book rewrites the narrative and interpretation of the Nine Years War. It uses military evidence to show that not only was Irish society progressive, it was also quicker to adopt military and technological change than its English enemies.

    These young, educated women from an upper-middle-class background are making choices that send their lives off in radically unconventional directions. The novel follows the girls' careers and loves from the anything-goes artist's life of Paris in the 1920's to a Bolshevik revolt in a convent; from scandalous liaisons to hostile encounters with British troops. The collision between personalities and values builds towards an inevitable explosion as each becomes more committed to her choices. The story is set in post civil war Northern Ireland (1925)-a time when emotions are still raw and families are often divided by political allegiances. The O'Neill family is no exception. The girls' father is a magistrate appointed by the English king while their mother- descendant of the local nobility-is an "out-and-outer" for the rebel cause.

    His job bores him and his love is unrequited. Very few people pay attention to Michael, and that suits him fine. Then one day, he finds himself the winner of the largest lottery in the history of Europe – €190,000,000! Under the weight of his new found wealth and fame, Michael’s life spirals out of control until he is forced to make a decision. A decision that will capture the imagination of the entire world…

    His arrival causes cheeks to flush and arms to fold in disapproval. No one in the village - living or dead - will tell what happened to the teenage mother who abandoned him as a baby, despite Mahony's certainty that more than one of them has answers. Between Mulderrig’s sly priest, its pitiless nurse and the caustic elderly actress throwing herself into her final village play, this beautiful and darkly comic debut novel creates an unforgettable world of mystery, bloody violence and buried secrets.

    Aisling. She lives at home in Ballygobbard (or Ballygobackwards, as some gas tickets call it) with her parents and commutes to her good job at PensionsPlus in Dublin.Aisling goes out every Saturday night with her best friend Majella, who is a bit of a hames (she’s lost two phones already this year – Aisling has never lost a phone). Aisling spends two nights a week at her boyfriend John’s. He’s from down home and was kiss number seventeen at her twenty-first.But Aisling wants more. She wants the ring on her finger. She wants the hen with the willy straws. She wants out of her parents’ house, although she’d miss Mammy turning on the electric blanket like clockwork and Daddy taking her car 'out for a spin' and bringing it back full of petrol.When a week in Tenerife with John doesn’t end with the expected engagement, Aisling calls a halt to things and soon she has surprised herself and everyone else by agreeing to move into a three-bed in Portobello with stylish Sadhbh from HR and her friend, the mysterious Elaine. Newly single and relocated to the big city, life is about to change utterly for this wonderful, strong, surprising and funny girl, who just happens to be a complete Aisling. Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen, the creators of the much-loved Aisling character and the popular Facebook page 'Oh My God, What a Complete Aisling', bring Aisling to life in their novel about the quintessential country girl in the big smoke.

    It’s Irish as you’ve never seen it before!This is the third book from the bestselling father and daughter duo behind Irelandopedia and Historopedia, which have sold over 100,000 copies.

    It also recounts his experiences attending historic events such as the inauguration of Barack Obama and the funerals of Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro. We get a glimpse of Gerry's passions, but see the more challenging times too, like the loss of his close friend and political ally, Martin McGuinness. The book takes the reader on a fascinating journey from serious to slapstick and back again.

    In a blind and demented attempt to salvage something from his life, he sets off, half-lucidly, on a libertine mission to reclaim life, to live it exclusively on his terms. But the wild and sinister crime he plots, so characterised by delusion, sets him on a path to irreversible destruction.Incarcerated after his crime, at the once prestigious Reil Institute, and in a bid to make spiritual and cosmic amends, Albert Jackson employs the guile of a local novelist, Charlie Vaughan, to tell his story. In the telling of Albert's story, Charlie drives the narrative onward and backward, forcing Albert to confront the horrors of his crime. When the inadequacy of Albert's initial confession forces Charlie to search further afield, he must cede control of the narrative to a range of other narrators too, among them key witnesses to the events leading up to Albert's crime and a strange third-person account composed by Albert himself.Slipping is a darkly humorous novel about life and love, ambition, bitter disappointment and the cost of committing the unforgivable.

    For millennia, it has also been a hub for foreign visitors: its position made it a medieval centre for traders, and the wildness of its rugged landscape has been the setting for spiritual pilgrimage. This seeming paradox is what makes Dingle and its western hinterland unique: the ancient, native culture is preserved, while also being influenced by the world at large. It’s a rich heritage, best understood by chatting with the people who live and work here. But how many visitors get that opportunity?Starting with Dingle town, and following the Slea Head Drive, Felicity Hayes-McCoy and Wilf Judd take us on an insiders’ tour of the region, interviewing locals, ranging from farmers, postmasters and boatmen to museum curators, radio presenters and sean-nós singers. Residents for the last twenty years, Felicity and Wilf offer practical information and advice as well as cultural insights that will give any visitor a deeper understanding of this special place.

    As the eagerly anticipated sequel to Beyond Derrynane opens, having spent almost six eventful years at the court of Maria Theresa, Eileen O’Connell has availed herself of a fortuitous opportunity to travel back to Ireland.Her vivacious personality matched only by her arresting physical presence, Eileen returns to Derrynane this time not as a teenage widow but, rather, as one of the most recognised figures at the glittering Habsburg court. Before departing Ireland several months later, she experiences a whirlwind romance, leading to a tumult of betrayal and conflict within the O’Connell clan. Once back in Vienna she unexpectedly finds her responsibilities as governess to the youngest Habsburg archduchess now linked to relations between France and Austria.Abigail, rather than being eclipsed by her colourful younger sister, has instead ascended to the vaulted position of principal lady-in-waiting to Empress Maria Theresa. No longer "just a girl from deep in Kerry," she is a beloved - and powerful - figure at court.Hugh O’Connell, the youngest of the large family, leaves behind waning adolescence and a fleeting attraction to the youngest archduchess when he begins a military career in the Irish Brigade of the armies of Louis XV. But, perhaps as a foreshadowing of his adult life and career, more royal entanglement awaits him in France …In the continuing saga, the O'Connells will confront intrigue, romance - even violence. Despite their innate wisdom, cunning and guile, what their futures hold remains to be seen.With his uniquely-descriptive prose, Kevin O’Connell again deftly weaves threads of historical fact and fancy to create a colourful tapestry affording unique insights into the courts of eighteenth-century Catholic Europe as well as Protestant Ascendancy–ruled Ireland. Watch as the epic unfolds amongst the O’Connells, their friends and enemies, as the tumultuously-dangerous worlds in which they dwell continue to gradually - but inexorably - change.Along with Beyond Derrynane, Two Journeys Home - and the two books to follow in The Derrynane Saga - comprise an enthralling series of historical novels, presenting a sweeping chronicle, set against the larger drama of Europe in the early stages of significant change, dramatising the roles, which have never before been treated in fiction, played by a small number of expatriate Irish Catholics of the fallen “Gaelic Aristocracy” at the courts of Catholic Europe, as well as relating their complex, at times dangerous, lives at home in an Ireland still controlled by the Sassenach. In addition to Eileen's, the books trace the largely-fictional lives of several other O'Connells of Derrynane, it is the tantalisingly few facts that are historically documented about them which provide the basic facts which give rise to the tale, into which strategic additions of numerous historical and fictional personalities and events mesh seamlessly.

    Hailed as the Irish Nancy Mitford in her day; as well as writing books she was the leading playwright of the '30s, her work directed by John Gielgud. Between 1928 and 1956, she wrote eleven novels, and some of her earlier plays, under the pseudonym M.J. Farrell. In 1981, aged seventy, she published Good Behaviour under her own name. The manuscript, which had languished in a drawer for many years, was lent to a visitor, the actress Peggy Ashcroft, who encouraged Keane to publish it. Molly Keane's novels reflect the world she inhabited; she was from a 'rather serious hunting and fishing, church-going family'. She was educated, as was the custom in Anglo-Irish households, by a series of governesses and then at boarding school. Distant and awkward relationships between children and their parents would prove to be a recurring theme for Keane. Maggie O'Farrell wrote that 'she writes better than anyone else about the mother-daughter relationship, in all its thorny, fraught, inescapable complexity.' Here, for the first time, is her biography and, written by one of her two daughters, it provides an honest portrait of a fascinating, complicated woman who was a brilliant writer and a portrait of the Anglo-Irish world of the first half of the twentieth century.

    Your next campsite meal will be a culinary delight! Renowned cook, food stylist and author Julia Rutland has brought her sensational skills to the great outdoors. The result is a camper-friendly cookbook with more than 100 delicious recipes. Do a bit of prep work at home, and prepare to create mouthwatering dishes that are sure to please. You’ll wish every meal was cooked at a campfire.Cookbook FeaturesMore than 100 tasty yet simple recipes to cook at your campsite or cabinFull-color photographs of every delicious dishRecipes by a professional cook and food stylistPerfect meals for campers, families and foodies

    On some occasions, they represented themselves as Molly's Sons, sent by their mother, to carry out justice; on others, a man attired as a woman, introducing herself as Molly Maguire, demanding redress for wrongs inflicted on her children. The raiders might stipulate the maximum price at which provisions were to be sold, warn against the eviction of tenants, or demand that anevicted family be reinstated to their holding. People who refused to meet their demands were often viciously beaten and, in some instances, killed-offences that the Constabulary classified as outrages. Catholic clergymen regularly denounced the Mollies and in 1853, the district was proclaimedunder the Crime and Outrage (Ireland) Act. Yet the outrages continued.Then, in 1856, Patrick McGlynn, a young schoolmaster, suddenly turned informer on the Mollies, precipitating dozens of arrests. Here, a history of McGlynn's informing, backlit by episodes over the previous two decades, sheds light on that wave of outrage, its origins and outcomes, the meaning andthe memory of it. More specifically, it illuminates the end of outrage--the shifting objectives of those who engaged in it, and also how, after hunger faded and disease abated, tensions emerged in the Molly Maguires, when one element sought to curtail such activity, while another sought, unsuccessfully, to expand it. And in that contention, when the opportunities of post-Famine society were coming into view, one glimpses the end, or at least an ebbing, of outrage--in the everyday sense of moral indignation--at the fate of the rural poor. But, at heart, The End of Outrage is aboutcontention among neighbours--a family that rose from the ashes of a mode of living, those consumed in the conflagration, and those who lost much but not all. Ultimately, the concern is how the poor themselves came to terms with their loss: how their own outrage at what had been done unto them andtheir forbears lost malignancy, and eventually ended. The author being a native of the small community that is the focus of The End of Outrage makes it an extraordinarily intimate and absorbing history.

    “The child that is to come to Ballynar?” Seamus nodded. “A girl with hair like flame and eyes like the Irish Sea. Connor believes,” Seamus paused a moment, his voice gruff and his eyes moist as he corrected himself, “Connor believed she will be born within the next moon, as his sister-law is due in the next few weeks.” “We shall see,” Lori simply said as she stared into the flames. Their people were waiting for someone as well and had been for centuries. ‘One wielding a great power, who will act as a bridge between two worlds and bring healing.’ Some waited for a mighty warrior, others for a wise old crone. Lori’s dreams showed her something different, a young woman lit with Bride’s flame. “He made me promise to protect the child,” Seamus said, interrupting her thoughts, “he saw darkness shadowing her and made me swear by the sea, the sky and the land; and I did, I promised him all that…” “You promised him more than that Seamus and you know it. A Selkie promise is a powerful thing and you have bound not only yourself but all of our kin with you. You have made this yet-to-be-born human a charge of the sea...” New York 1994 The first female vicars of the Anglican Church have just been ordained. Skye Ryan is one of them. The feisty redhead is following in her great, great uncle Connor Ryan's footsteps, but when Skye accepts a call to the tiny Irish Parish of Ballynar, where Conor himself served for thirty years, the magical and the mundane entwine in ways the 22-year-old vicar never anticipated...

    During the 1916 Rising he commanded the Fingal Battalion of the Volunteers, who were tasked with destroying the communications network of the British establishment north of Dublin city. This culminated in the Battle of Ashbourne, where the tactics used were a precursor of the guerrilla warfare techniques that were to be so effective in the War of Independence.Ashe was sentenced to death alongside Éamon de Valera, but their sentences were commuted to life imprisonment. He led a hunger strike in Lewes Prison in May 1917 and was released under a general amnesty in June. Ashe was re-arrested in August for a speech he made in Co. Longford. He was imprisoned in Mountjoy, where he went on hunger strike in September for prisoner-of-war status. He died on 25 September, having been force-fed by the prison authorities. Michael Collins delivered the oration at his funeral and the circumstances of his death and funeral became one of the key factors in tipping public opinion towards supporting the cause of the 1916 rebels.

    An unprecedented gathering of the correspondence of one of the great writers of twentieth century, The Collected Letters of Flann O'Brien presents an intimate look into the life and thought of Brian O'Nolan, a prolific author of novels, stories, sketches, and journalism who famously wrote and presented works to the reading public under a variety of pseudonyms.

     Caught in a web of deception… Rosaleen and Cathal O’Mahoney decide to return to Ireland with their daughter. Rosaleen is beyond desperate to get back to her twin boys, Daniel and Eugene, who she’d left behind in haste years ago. The twins were entrusted into the care of Milliora O’Brien in Ireland. Left as young boys, seven years later and the return of their mother instils mixed emotions. Daniel, the more compassionate and amusing of the two is excited. Eugene, on the other hand, harbours a deep resentment towards his mother and Aoibheal, his half-sister – after all, she had their mother all to herself all this time. Aoibheal looks forward to seeing the brothers she has heard so much about, but she is unprepared for the cold welcome that awaits her. As the rancour deepens, Kate Keegan, a childhood friend of Daniel’s, finds herself tangled in a web of loyalty and deception. Her friendship with Daniel was strong and stable and, as the years go by, their feelings grow. But Kate is ambitious. It has always been her dream to go on stage, and nothing will stop her following her dreams. Until Eugene steps in. Bitter and full of hate, Eugene targets Kate. A talented artist, he woes Kate in with his knowledge of the theatre. Finding a common ground, Kate innocently gravitates towards Eugene. Until he deceives her in the most unimaginable of ways… From the theatres of Dublin and London to the stark and bloody battlefields of the First World War; from the Bohemian salons of Paris to the country estates of Clare and Dorset, this is a richly evocative portrait of life in the first two turbulent decades of the twentieth century. Praise for Joy Martin “Readable and entertaining” – Dublin Evening Press "They are highly professional and tell a gripping, page-turning story...We need an Irish Downton Abbey!" - Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson Joy Martin was born in Limerick. She trained as a journalist and worked on Dublin’s Evening Press, then moved to writing news for the Zambia Broadcasting Corporation and the BBC Home and External Services. She has broadcast in Ireland, Zambia, South Africa and Britain. A Heritage of Wrong is one of her most powerful novels.

    what we really mean when we say sorry, the difference between a wagon and a weapon and when awful is better than savage!

    By examining the wealth of under-explored evidence available, Downham challenges this popular notion and demonstrates what a culturally rich and diverse place medieval Ireland was. Starting in the fifth century, when St Patrick arrived on the island, and ending in the fifteenth century, with the efforts of the English government to defend the lands which it ruled directly around Dublin by building great ditches, this up-to-date and accessible survey charts the internal changes in the region. Chapters dispute the idea of an archaic society in a wide-range of areas, with a particular focus on land-use, economy, society, religion, politics and culture. This concise and accessible overview offers a fresh perspective on Ireland in the Middle Ages and overthrows many enduring stereotypes.

    From tough lessons on the parish field and the politics of afterschool football to the euphoria of Croke Park and brushes with demigods like Jimmy Barry-Murphy and Roy Keane, Boy Wonderis a poignant comic memoir about family, sport and the rites of passage that shape every childhood. It is one man’s story – but a testament to every man’s experience.‘If you ever strung a length of washing line across the road to try to replicate the excitement of Wimbledon, played street football while imagining John Motson simpering over your every touch, trotted around an obstacle course slapping your backside during Dublin Horse Show week or tried to emulate Alex Higgins on a four-foot by two-foot snooker table in the tight confines of a suburban kitchen, then Boy Wonder will make you ache with nostalgia for your own childhood.’ Paul Howard‘Utterly authentic.’Matt Cooper

     Love, mystery and drama, these fascinating tales mark a new movement of more authentic Celtic-based writing and a better understanding of Celtic cultures. Accompanied by explanatory notes on the background cultural context, this latest collection examines the stories of Macha and the naming of Eamain Macha, the deity ‘An Dagda’, ‘Changlings’, why you should be careful with crows and many others. Na Ceiltigh, abú!

    Their influence, status and numbers had all but disappeared by the end of the civil war in 1923 and they were to form a quiescent minority up to modern times. This book tells the tale of this transformation and their forced adaptation, exploring the lasting effect that it had on both the Protestant community and the wider Irish society and investigating how Protestants in southern Ireland view their place in the Republic today.

    Her very descriptive, dramatic and often humorous Celtic Road Home takes you on a courageous journey of constant Life adventures. Despite her many up and down struggles along the way, she never gives up hope on the very next outcome becoming more successful than the one before. Inspirational and captivating throughout, with the ending of each chapter/city leaving you breathless for the next one to begin. As you continue along on a new roller-coaster ride, Ann always strives to maintain a positive outlook while going against the grain. A sage filled with an uplifting spirit and a touch of Irish laughter that will make your heart smile.

    Inspector Ben Cronin is coasting towards retirement, so the last thing he needs is a case that threatens to expose the town's dark underbelly.Maggie Cahill, a priest’s housekeeper, is at a crossroads in her personal life when she receives a letter out of the blue from someone in her distant past. Her peace of mind and her livelihood are at risk as she seeks the truth of what happened to Simon Crowe, and why someone knows secrets she thought she'd buried long ago.By the end of the investigation, will both Maggie’s and Cronin’s lives will be changed forever? And will Ballytierney ever be the same?

    T. Q. Stewart once remarked that in Ireland all history is applied history—that is, the study of the past prosecutes political conflict by other means. Indeed, nearly twenty years after the 1998 Belfast Agreement, "dealing with the past" remains near the top of the political agenda in Northern Ireland. The essays in this volume, by leading experts in the fields of Irish and British history, politics, and international studies, explore the ways in which competing "social" or "collective memories" of the Northern Ireland "Troubles" continue to shape the post-conflict political landscape. The contributors to this volume embrace a diversity of perspectives: the Provisional Republican version of events, as well as that of its Official Republican rival; Loyalist understandings of the recent past as well as the British Army's authorized for-the-record account; the importance of commemoration and memorialization to Irish Republican culture; and the individual memory of one of the noncombatants swept up in the conflict. Tightly specific, sharply focused, and rich in local detail, these essays make a significant contribution to the burgeoning literature of history and memory. The book will interest students and scholars of Irish studies, contemporary British history, memory studies, conflict resolution, and political science. Contributors: Jim Smyth, Ian McBride, Ruan O’Donnell, Aaron Edwards, James W. McAuley, Margaret O’Callaghan, John Mulqueen, and Cathal Goan.

    Not a day goes by when I don’t think of you”These sentiments, expressed on an old postcard found at a Dublin flea market in 2010, unearth for Alannah the ill-fated love story of Micheál and Eileen set during the Irish War of Independence and Civil War.Mirroring the prophetic words of W.B. Yeats ‘things fall apart’, Micheál and Eileen are immersed in the events of the time, full of passion, courage, idealism and hope. Tragedy ensues and it is left to Alannah to reconcile the outcome a century later in a way that brings her intimately and surprisingly in contact with both Micheál and Eileen.Set in County Cork, this historical novel describes the turmoil of a people in their quest for identity.“This is a beautiful, lovingly-crafted book and reminds me of the classic haunting narratives of Walter Macken: Evocative settings, sympathetic characters, important issues, an intriguing and beguiling story, told with palpable compassion. Pádraig is a real writer who creates a world, takes the reader by the hand and leads us through an adventure into the heart of who we really are."Dave Andrews, Author “Building a Better World”Further information at www.patrickogorman.co.uk

    a satisfyingly strong heroine." "[An] ambitious novel involving espionage, counterespionage, romance, and one very quirky relationship with Hitler ... an engaging, briskly paced spy tale with a few surprises." Kirkus ReviewsAbby White and her fellow college interns at the Chicago Tribune have no idea of the peril they will encounter when they find the scoop of their young lives. A full-blown mafia war in 1920s Chicago leads to a dangerous cat-and-mouse chase that forces them to risk it all. Three of the surviving interns struggle to elude the long arm of the mafia only to become immersed in the looming specter of World War II. Midwesterner Abby becomes a foreign correspondent in Berlin, rubbing elbows with the German elite. That puts her in prime position to spy on Hitler's newly formed Nazi government for U.S. Intelligence. Dan, an Irishman with a complicated relationship with the British, is acting as a double agent for MI6. Esther is a Jewish journalist living in France with her husband and young child. Although she fears for family and friends, she soon becomes aware that her little family's safety is also in jeopardy. Can Abby and her friends survive mafia assassins and the murderous Nazis?Kill Abby White! Now! is a fast-paced fun read with well-developed characters and a thrilling plot. The book paints a colorful picture of Chicago in the Roaring Twenties, 1930s Berlin, and France as it prepares for Nazi occupation. Abby White is a heroine to remember; and history fans will enjoy the real events and people woven into this unforgettable story.

    Two magical quests. Three riddles will set her free. Summoned by the Pebble People to a world which mirrors her own, but is full of hidden magic, Felicity must use her wits to survive. Can she stop the mysterious smugglers causing mayhem in this darkling realm, and solve the Rhyming Riddler’s puzzles before she’s trapped here forever? Befriended by Bob, a bookish brownie, and Hatchet, a kidnapped hobgoblin, Felicity soon finds herself lost in a shadowy kingdom cloaked in secrecy and enchantments. Her most startling discovery, however, is yet to come … ‘When she went to the beach one sparkling spring day, She picked up a pebble … and it whisked her away.’

    He leaves in the middle of the night, with only his son, Ruari. Turlough and Ruari travel west to find music, the other true love in Turlough’s life. Unwittingly sleeping under an ancient Faerie stone, they wake up in Faerie. Amidst enchanting music, they almost lose their souls before they escape with their lives. When they returns, Turlough finds two years have passed, though he’s only been gone two weeks. His mother is waiting for him with the gift of a magical brooch.

    I was good at nothing. I was born into an easy life in an easy time. But I couldn't cope…'Over a 20 year span, Tenure as a Statistician tells the stories of Crikle, Jede, and Rose, and their triumphs and downfalls. Rejecting traditional social norms, they struggle to find their place in the world, taking the reader deep into modern existence in the nomadic tech era and leading the protagonists on varied paths to destruction, introspection and satori.

    It examines the collective assumptions, aspirations, fears, resentments and prejudices of the common people as they are revealed in the vernacular literature of the period. The topics investigated include: politics, religion, historical memory, European conflicts, Anglo-Irish patriotism, agrarian agitation, the tumultuous decade of the 1790s, and the rise of Daniel O'Connell. The texts of eight important works are presented in full - seven of them translated for the first time - to allow those who are unable to read the originals an opportunity to assess the temper of Irish popular culture during a formative period in the country's history.

    In The Deep Heart's Core some 100 Irish poets accept the invitation to revisit a favourite, key or touchstone poem of their own, and offer a short commentary on same -- as they might at a live event.The result is an illuminating, thought-provoking and wholly engaging volume, a unique anthology as selected by the poets themselves, and a rare glimpse into the thinking, feeling and craft behind the finished poems.The Deep Heart's Core is both an ideal introduction to contemporary Irish poetry for the general reader and a handbook for the aspiring practitioner or student.

    It also follows the music of the Irish diaspora from as far apart as Newfoundland and the music halls of vaudeville to the musical tapestry of Irish America today.