His career in film started in John Boorman's atmospheric Excalibur and to date has included such highlights as Miller's Crossing (The Coen Brothers), Gothic (Ken Russell), In the Name of the Father (Jim Sheridan) which he also produced, The Usual Suspects (Brian Singer) and most recently Smila's Feeling for Snow and the Man in the Iron Mask. The range of roles is varied but always played with a brooding intensity.

    Where Stella's family struggle to make ends meet, Charlie can have anything he wants, and that includes Stella, who is rapidly falling for him. Then Stella discovers she is pregnant. Suddenly Charlie is gone, and Stella is left with only the bracelet he gave her. Stella's devoutly religious mother, horrifed by the scandal, sends her errant daughter to a Magdalene Laundry convent, miles from home, where in return for daily and rigorous and endless chores, Stella will be able to have her baby in secret. The convent is bleak and austere, the nuns themselves cruel and lacking compassion. When Stella's baby girl is born, it will be taken from her for adoption, the only answer is to run away with her child. But Stella didn't expect the struggle and pain of being a single mother - with her family turning against her, who can she rely on for help. Out of the blue, comes support and love from an unexpected quarter, to finally make Stella's story a happy one.

    His name is synonymous with passion, heart and determination. But he is also the thinking man's rugby player, a legendary student of the game.As the heartbeat of Munster, British and Irish Lions captain in 2009, and captain of the first Ireland team to retain the Six Nations championship, O'Connell became the most beloved and respected of the golden generation of Irish rugby players - and was widely regarded as one of the very best players in the world. There was nothing inevitable - or even likely - about any of this, and in an autobiography as intense and thoughtful as its author, O'Connell explores the forces and struggles that turned him into the player and leader that he became. The Battle is a book for everyone who wants to understand the roots of achievement and the inner world of an elite sportsman. It will take its place alongside the very finest sports books of recent years.

    Now about twenty-five years old, they are about to inherit the new Ireland. Who are they? What makes them tick? Where are they taking us?

    When he died, at the age of 41, he was arguably the most celebrated Irish writer of the twentieth century.After the Wake is a collection of seven prose works and a series of articles. It includes all that exists of an unfinished novel, 'The Catacombs', and pieces together items whose comic and fanciful accounts evoke Flann O'Brien. Also featured are works of acknowledged excellence, 'The Confirmation Suit' and 'A Woman of No Standing'. This writing bears all the hallmarks of the author's talent - an ability to bring characters to life quickly and unforgettably, a sharp ear for dialogue and dialect, and a natural vocation for story-telling.This diverse collection is a delightful and entertaining windfall from one of Ireland's most colourful writers. An essential complement to Behan's master works.

    Bombs and guns were, and once again are, the primary negotiation tools used by Catholic and Protestant extremists in the conflict surrounding the sovereignty of Northern Ireland—the six counties known as Ulster.Patrick Taylor's Only Wounded centers on the hopes and despairs of everyday life during these new Troubles. New York Times bestselling author Patrick Taylor traces an intricate narrative path through Ulster, detailing sensitive, unbiased portraits of the ordinary—and not so ordinary—people caught in the partisan brutality of Northern Ireland.

    Love in the Dark'One of the most exciting, new and absolutely original aspects of Carr's writing is the manner in which the sexism of the language and religious imagery is exposed... Marina Carr is a playwright to be watched.' Sunday TribuneThe Mai'The writing is at once gentle and raucous... capable of articulating deep-seated woes and resentments in a manner you rarely find outside Eugene O'Neill.' ObserverPortia Coughlan'A play of precocious maturity and accomplishment.' Irish Times'Portia Coughlan packs a hell of a punch. It hurts to look at it. But it has to be seen.' Irish IndependentBy the Bog of Cats...'A poetic realism steeped in the past... Carr has an extraordinary ability to move between the mythic and the real.' Guardian'A great play... a great work of poetry... the word should soon carry across both sides of the Atlantic.' Independent

    Nuala is the Irish immigrant nurse who coaxes him toward survival. The odd synergy of their relationship is both his link to reality and his inspiration to fantasy. This is the hypnotic story of the world that grows in the silence between them.In Thomas Moran's first novel, the New York Times Book Review saw evidence of his "incontestable conceptual gifts". In his "elegant writing", the Los Angeles Times found the promise of a serious new career. The New Yorker compared The Man in the Box to The Diary of Anne Frank, and the Los Angeles Times compared Thomas Moran to Eli Wiesel. And on the heels of this critical success comes The World I Made for Her.Nuala means "white shoulders" in Gaelic. Nuala's wild red hair falls in disarray over hers. James watches her moving deftly around him; changing his IV, attaching a fresh respirator tube. Nuala's movements are like dance to him through his morphine-clouded vision. His senses are numbed, his mind is dulled, but he hears her Irish spirit sing against the metronome of the life-support machines. He is drawn to the warmth of her. He carries Nuala in and out of consciousness with him, writing a secret love story in which she is, unknowingly, the heroine.In prose that moves seamlessly between fantasy and reality, The World I Made for Her is a novel of obsession and redemption that unfolds like a dream -- a story that will break your heart.

    About to turn 30, like many her age, Ellen had left the Church a long time ago, but she had never stopped believing in and talking to God. Now, she suddenly realized she wasn't quite ready for this statement to be true, however much of a contradiction it seemed to present with some of her most strongly held views.Abandoning the Church had been an act of protest, a form of punishment. However, she began to wonder: who had really lost the most? Why should those who did the damage to the Church get to keep it and all its good bits, like going to Mass for the ritual and the community, having a clear guide for living a better life, and the comfort of believing it's not the end when somebody dies?But how could she ally herself to an institution she doesn't entirely agree with? In her first book, Ellen tries to figure out how much she really wants to go back to the Church, and if it is even the right thing to do. A stunningly intelligent and thoughtful debut work of non-fiction.

    PhilipNewell emphasized the Celtic view of the oneness of creationand humanity as expressed through Christ. In that poetic treatmentof the wisdom of Celtic spirituality, Newell pointed the way to amore peaceful, harmonious, integrated Christianity. A New Harmonytakes the next step forward in emphasizing the need to overcomedivisions and find common ground and to reclaim the best of ancientChristian spirituality and a more holistic, natural way of thinkingabout faith.Offers a view of spirituality rooted in ancient insights thatincludes and extends beyond ChristianityPresents the case for the need for "a new harmony" that is bothmystical and relationalThe author J. Philip Newell is a well-known expert on CelticChristianity and the author of the acclaimed Listening for theHeartbeat of God.

    Can't wait that long? Start reading Part One of Three now (chapters 1 – 22). It is not the whole book.Love what you've read? To get the entire story, you can buy Parts One & Two (chapters 1 – 49) on May 13, 2014, and Part Three (chapters 50 – 64) or the full-length book on May 20, 2014.An unforgettable and moving novel for fans of Tana French and Elizabeth George, from the author of the New York Times bestseller Little Girl Lost.Just before Christmas, the body of a sixteen-year-old girl is found along the train tracks on the outskirts of a small town. As Detective Lucy Black investigates the teenager's tragic last hours in search of clues to her death, she realizes that some of the victim's friends may have been her most dangerous enemies—and that whoever killed her is ready to kill again. Haunted by the memory of a case gone wrong, and taunted by a killer on the loose, Lucy finds herself pitted against a lethal opponent hiding in plain sight.From an author described by John Connolly as "a major force" in suspense literature, Someone You Know is one of the most atmospheric, powerful thrillers you'll read all year.

    Set in contemporary Ireland the story is intertwined with one set in 1940’s. In both past and present it seems that everybody has something to hide. When Phoebe's married lover dies in a car accident she dare not openly express her grief for fear of their affair being found out. Heart broken she leaves her life in England to search out the old boathouse bequeathed to her by her Irish grandmother. Enthralled by the stunning scenery of the West Coast of Ireland she soon finds herself swept up by life in the nearby village of Carraigmore. When she discovers a collection of her grandmother’s old diaries hidden beneath the boat house floorboards she becomes immersed in a story of family scandal, repressed sexuality and a passionate affair between her grandmother and a young Irish artist. As Phoebe tries to piece together the truth about her grandmother’s past she begins to realise that the repercussions of what happened all those years before have shaped not only her own life but the lives of those in the small community around her. With many questions unanswered Phoebe sets out to find out more but it seems that no one in Carraigmore is quite telling her the truth.

    DanDan is struggling with the death of his ex, Lucy is drinking way too much and Steph has become closed off. A weekend away is just what they need. They travel out to Rockadoon Lodge, to the wilds in the west of Ireland. But the weekend doesn't go to plan. JJ is more concerned with getting high than spending time with them, while Merc is humiliated and seeks revenge. And when their elderly neighbour Malachy arrives on their doorstep in the dead of night with a gun in his hands, nothing will be the same again for any of them . . .Honest, moving and human, Rockadoon Shore is a novel about friendship and youth, about missed opportunities and lost love, and about the realities of growing up and growing old in modern-day Ireland. Highly energetic and tensely humorous, it heralds a new and exciting voice in contemporary Irish fiction.

    One home that binds them together.When Edie Chadwick travels to Ireland to close up her uncle’s lakeside lodge, it’s as much to escape the burden of guilt she’s carrying as to break loose from the smart set of 1930’s London.The old house is full of memories – not just her own, but those of a woman whose story has been left to gather dust in a chest in the attic: a handwritten memoir inscribed with an elegant signature . . . Eliza DruryAs she turns the pages of the manuscript, Edie uncovers secrets she could never have imagined: an exciting tale of ambition, hardship, love and tragedy – a story that has waited a lifetime to be told. . ."A delightful story, rich, engrossing and vividly told" Rachel Hore"A compelling, atmospheric story brimming with period detail about two feisty, independent heroines who will steal your heart" Cathy Kelly"With a marvellously evocative setting, strong and believable lead characters and a pacey plot, Another Heartbeat in the House is a thoroughly compelling love story" Liz Trenow