George Costigan
A former failed accountant, record salesman and wood-cutter, George then became an actor. After drama school, he joined the Liverpool Everyman, where he met writers Alan Bleasdale, Willie Russell and Chris Bond. “By the end of…
Ger Reidy
Son of a farmer, Ger wasn’t a reader because on a farm there was always something to be done. “I came to literature as a teenager through the lyrics of Bob Dylan and Tom Waites.” After…
Alan McMonagle
As a child Alan penned epic adventure and science fiction stories, but he stopped writing for many years. After school, he took a diploma, then he drifted through his twenties. “I spent time in London and…
John Boyne
WHEN John Boyne started writing The Heart’s Invisible Furies, the debate that preceded the marriage equality referendum was in full flow. And, listening to the naysayers , it seemed unfair to him that the whole country…
Joanna Trollope
WHEN Joanna Trollope strides into the bar of the Merrion Hotel in Dublin, heads turn. And it’s not just because, at 73, she carries her slender height with such dignity and grace; her 19 contemporary novels…
Jeffrey Archer
LAST year Jeffrey Archer celebrated his Golden Wedding Anniversary. Describing his wife as a remarkable woman, Archer saysMary has enhanced his life. A renowned scientist, she gained a double first, and taught at both Oxford and…
Ally Bunbury
Ally was brought up in a beautiful but basic rambling house in Monaghan, with three sisters and 56 varieties of animals including ponies, a pig, and a goat. Between school and college she spent a year…
Andrew Tierney
An architectural historian, Andrew has taught in various places, including UCD – where he specialised in The Irish Country House, and Liverpool, where he taught Irish Studies. He works for the Buildings of Ireland charitable trust,…
Stephan Abarbanell
Stephan always liked writing, and especially loved telling his children stories. “I was always starting books – I was the king of great beginnings – but I could never finish a one. There was always the…
Joan Brady
After school Joan worked in various jobs, as a secretary, and a barmaid, then, taking a course in journalism, she scooped a job with Independent Newspapers. “I wrote features in The Irish Independent and The Evening…
Ali Land
A voracious reader, Ali always had the ability to use language and tell stories. She worked as a children’s mental health nurse for 10 years – in Scotland and Australia, before moving to London at 33….
Ronan Ryan
When Ronan was 19, a close friend of his died – and a year later he started writing about her. “The words came out like a torrent. I accidentally wrote a 200 page memoir. Writing electrified…