Book picks similar to
Turlough's Tale by Christy Nicholas
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Michael O'Leary: A Life In Full Flight
Alan Ruddock - 2007
He transformed Ryanair from a loss-making joke of an Irish carrier into one of the most valuable airlines in the world, and in the process he has revolutionized the very nature of commercial aviation. In this, the first biography of O'Leary, Alan Ruddock portrays the man in three dimensions and examines the business miracle - often talked about but poorly understood - that O'Leary has wrought.'Ruddock's fast-paced retelling of Ryanair's rise and rise confirms O'Leary's insistence that his success has little to do with the management maxims of business gurus and everything to do with graft and ruthless attention to detail' Observer'Probably the definitive Ryanair story ... a good read' Sunday Independent'The fullest and most accurate picture of O'Leary to date' Irish Daily Mail'Unlike previous books which simply chart the growth of the airline, this one is bound to get under O'Leary's skin because it reveals a great deal about his hugely driven character' Irish Independent'Ruddock is good on the flavour of the man, a bundle of energy whose two favourite words start with an F and an S (they aren't flower and sugar)' Irish Examiner
Lovers and Dancers (Ireland at War Book 1)
Heather Ingman - 2020
Sheltered from the outside terrors, Louisa lives at High Park, as upper-class estate in the Irish countryside where she feels she never quite belonged. Caught between a cold, unhappy marriage and mundane wifely duties, Louisa’s dream of being a painter never felt so distant. With her only son enlisted in the army, and her husband’s niece Muriel unsettling her with bizarre behaviour and pro-war values, she finds herself powerless in a war-torn world where being a woman finds no freedom. But then she meets wild, strong-minded Viola Luttrell and Louisa’s world is turned upside down. Struck by Viola’s charm, the two become friends – but before long their friendship in danger. Not only does Louisa’s husband hold a grudge against the Luttrell family, but Viola has a secret that could put both their lives at risk: she knows James Connolly, the nationalist rebel leader, and she plans to join the imminent uprising against the British. As Viola and Louisa grow closer and their friendship blossoms into something more, the fight for freedom becomes more than a fight for a nation, but a fight for themselves. As the terrors of the war infiltrate High Park and loyalties are tested, the women are forced to make painful decisions that could change the course of their lives forever… Lovers and Dancers is a heart-wrenching tale of love lost and love found in unexpected places. Praise for Heather Ingman 'A moving story of choices and regrets.' - Holly Kinsella Heather Ingman is the best-selling author of seven novels. Two, including STEALING HEAVEN, have been translated into German. She has lived in Scotland, France and Ireland and is currently Adjunct Professor in the School of English, Trinity College, Dublin. Her teaching and academic interests focus on women's fiction. Her academic publications include WOMEN'S INTER-WAR FICTION (Edinburgh University Press, 1998), A HISTORY OF THE IRISH SHORT STORY (Cambridge University Press) and IRISH WOMEN'S FICTION: FROM EDGEWORTH TO ENRIGHT (Irish Academic Press, 2013).
The Boy Between
Susan Stairs - 2015
Letters. Postcards. Photographs. Each memento plays a role in the secret story that's always in her thoughts. A story that can't remain hidden forever.When Orla is handed an envelope by her father, she is perplexed by what she finds - a photograph of her parents, taken the summer she was born. Her heavily expectant mother, unusually, is smiling. Between her parents stands a teenage boy, her mother's arm lovingly around him.Orla later asks her father about the boy's identity, but he refuses to be drawn. Her mother's mood is low again and he doesn't want her upset. So begins the daughter's investigation, back to the summer of 1983, and the story of a young English boy on holidays in rural Ireland. As the circle closes on a web of tragedy and deceit, the truth that emerges will impact on all their lives. The Boy Between is an expertly crafted, suspenseful and ultimately hopeful story of family secrets, a fateful summer, and the long-buried events of a distant past.
The Country Funeral
John McGahern - 2019
'My only concern', John McGahern once said, 'is that I get the sentence right and describe my world clearly and deeply.''The Country Funeral' witnesses three brothers, John, Philly and Fonsie Ryan, as they travel west from Dublin to Gloria Bog - the heart of the territory where so many of McGahern's stories take place - to attend the funeral of their uncle. Depicting the customs and rituals of the day, McGahern exquisitely traces how the brothers react to the area in unexpected and tender ways, and face their own feelings about the transience of life.Bringing together past, present and future in our ninetieth year, Faber Stories is a celebratory compendium of collectable work.
Click Click
Joyce Kavanagh - 2011
Their father abused all three of them in the family home throughout their childhood. In 1989, the sisters made the brave decision to bring charges against their father and, in 1990, the state took a successful case against him.He was convicted and imprisoned. Click, Click is the story of their abuse; the exposure of a man prolific in his paedophilia; and an Irish childhood lost in a dysfunctional, abusive and torturous environment. Importantly, however, it is also the story of three women's healing; their coming to terms with their abuse, and their forgiveness of themselves and others.The Kavanagh sisters have refused to allow their abuse to define them. With fierce humour, insight and honesty, they now share their story and show that with love and determination, you can indeed conquer all.
Dead As Doornails
Anthony Cronin - 1980
Anthony Cronin’s account of life in post-war literary Dublin is as funny and colourful as one would expect from an intimate of Brendan Behan, Patrick Kavanagh and Myles na Gopaleen; but it is also a clear-eyed and bracing antidote to the kitsch that passes for literary history and memory in the Dublin of today. Cronin writes with remarkable subtlety of the frustrations and pathologies of this generation: the excess of drink, the shortage of sex, the insecurity and begrudgery, the painful limitations of cultural life, and the bittersweet pull of exile. We read of a comical sojourn in France with Behan, and of Cronin’s years in London as a literary editor and a friend of the writer Julian Maclaren-Ross and the painters Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun. The generation chronicled by Cronin was one of wasted promise. That waste is redressed through the shimmering prose of Dead as Doornails, earning its place in Irish literary history alongside the best works of Behan, Kavanagh and Myles.
Niall Quinn: The Autobiography
Niall Quinn - 2002
Yet even before the competition had started, Quinn was caught up in the most emotionally draining events of his career, as Ireland's World Cup campaign was rocked by Roy Keane's sudden departure. All his efforts at mediation failed, leaving him exhausted. As he worked to find a solution, Quinn looked back on his life and career, and saw echoes of his current situation. In this fascinating autobiography, updated for this edition, he recalls the all-night drinking sessions with Tony Adams and Paul Merson, the gambling, the good times and the bad. It is a remarkable story, brilliantly told.
The Promise of Light: A Novel
Paul Watkins - 1992
Determined to learn the truth about his family's cloudy past, he sets sail for Ireland, and quickly becomes involved in a struggle between soldiers of the newly formed Irish Republican Army and the brutal British troops. Amidst the lush and rugged Irish countryside, and the horrible violence unfolding across it, Ben must search for the truth of his identity, and the ties of his family's blood.
Mother’s Only Child
Anne Bennett - 2006
But then her father has a dreadful accident and her mother breaks down in guilt and grief. Maria, the only child, must care for them. Her hopes are dashed, not only of her career, but of marrying the one who's loved her for years.Reluctantly, Maria is driven into the arms of the supposedly reliable Barney. But he's no such thing. The young couple have to leave their home in a hurry and settle in Birmingham, where Barney grows increasingly difficult and finally goes too far. A family crisis ensues but out of it comes the one thing Maria had given up hope of ever finding again.This is a superb saga of love, loss and family closeness, set against the tumultuous years of the war and its aftermath. Established fans of this author will love it and it is set to win her many new dedicated readers.
Boomerville at Ballymegille
Caroline James - 2020
There’s Irish craic and shenanigans aplenty for the colourful cast of characters as everyone gathers for the grand opening.Meet Melissa, an ex-cabaret singer running from her abusive husband, and Bill, a bachelor bullied from beyond the grave by the ghostly voice of his mother. Along with local bobby Harry the Helmet, ageing aquatic team the Boomerville Babes, eccentric artist Lucinda Gray, and heartthrob Finbar Murphy, they gather in Ireland and the fun begins. But murder is in the air and there’s mischief afoot. Will the residents get more than they bargained for at Boomerville?Set in the beautiful Irish countryside, ‘Boomerville at Ballymegille’ is a heart-warming story of friendship, fears and new beginnings.
Before Safe Haven: Alex
Christopher Artinian - 2018
People are calling Safe Haven “Gripping”, “Captivating”, “Emotional”, “Compelling” and “Scary as Hell”. Before Safe Haven: Alex A virus has infected billions all over the world, turning its victims into vicious zombies. The UK and Ireland have remained uninfected...until now. Alex Munro’s city is put in lockdown as an outbreak of the zombie virus takes hold. Each day the government broadcasts claim a new victory in the fight. Each night more shots are heard as the undead begin to stake their claim to the streets of Leeds. What will he do? What can he do? For Alex, family is everything. Survival is everything. Heroes aren’t born. Heroes are made. Today we need a new hero. Today we need Alex. This is his story.
Ross O'carroll Kelly's Guide To South Dublin: How To Get By On, Like, 10,000 Euro A Day
Ross O'Carroll-Kelly - 2007
The Ross Guide to South Dublin contains all you need to know about this extraordinary region, where it'll be soon be too expensive for anyone to live.
Titanic: True Stories of her Passengers, Crew and Legacy
Nicola Pierce - 2018
On board were: writers, artists, honeymooners, sportsmen, priests, reverends, fashion designers, aristocrats, millionaires, children, crew and emigrants looking for a better life.This book tells of their lives, and shines the spotlight on:
Some of the great ship’s surprising treasures
Her fêted voyage from Belfast’s Harland & Wolff shipyard
The fascinating museums devoted to her memory, including Titanic Belfast
The iconic music and movies
Her winged and four-legged passengers
The sister ships of Olympic and Britannic
Tales of heroism
Theories surrounding Titanic’s fatal collision
The lifeboats and just how close the SS Californian was on that tragic night
How Arctic explorer Ernest Shackleton and the inquiries viewed events
These stories and much more lie inside.
Hungry for Home
Cole Moreton - 2000
Cole Moreton tells the story of the Blaskets through the eyes of the Kearney family, who lived there for generations until 1947 when they paid a terrible price for their isolation-a young man's life. Moreton discovers a few survivors still alive within sight of the Great Blasket, but most had left Ireland for America, settling in Massachusetts. Hungry for Home is a beautifully written and gripping account of a quest for a vanished people, and the Kearneys' incredible journey into the twentieth century is "a moving, atmospheric testament to the mythic lure of home". Entertainment Weekly.
A Belfast Child
John Chambers - 2020
From an early age he witnessed violence, hatred and horror as Northern Ireland tore itself apart in civil strife. Kneecapping, brutal murders, and even public tarring-and-feathering were simply a fact of life for the children on the estate. He thought he knew which side he was on, but although raised as a Loyalist, he was hiding a troubling secret: that his disappeared mother - whom he'd always been told was dead - was a Roman Catholic, 'the enemy'.In a memoir of rare power, John explores the dark heart of Northern Irish sectarianism in the 70s and 80s. With searing honesty and native Belfast wit, he describes the light and darkness of his unique childhood, and his teenage journey through mod culture and ultra-Loyalism, before an escape from Belfast to London - where, still haunted by the shadow of his fractured family history - he began a turbulent and hedonistic adulthood.'A BELFAST CHILD' is a tale of divided loyalties, dark secrets and the scars left by hatred and violence on a proud city - but also a story of hope, healing and ultimate redemption for a family caught in the rising tide of the Troubles.©2020 John Chambers (P)2020 Bonnier Publishing