Mary Phelan
From the moment Mary Phelan and Catherine Conlon met in primary school back in 1974,they have been best friends. But at 18, Catherine left Ireland for an au-pair job in France, and she hasn’t lived in Ireland…
Frankie Gaffney
Starting life in Balbriggan, Frankie moved to inner-city Dublin at 12. He mitched from school, and in his early twenties, working in nightclubs, saw Dublin’s underside. “I partied like crazy.” He did a radio a radio…
Eleanor Fitzsimons
Eleanor worked in consumer research for years; first in Dublin, then London, but after the birth of her first child, she decided not to return to work at once, and the new family returned to Dublin….
Martina Devlin
MARTINA DEVLIN never cooks. She used to. She would prepare meals from scratch, and she did some baking too, but a few years ago she gave it up, deciding it was a mug’s game. So it’s…
Book Launch. Alan Walsh
I love book launches. They’re a great way to celebrate books, meet friends, and chat with like minded people. Then there’s the wine…. We had a memorable night on 5th November, when I did the honours…
Kieran Fanning
Kieran had written two novels by the time he was ten years old. The first was called The Magic Sword, and the second, The Samurai. “I’ve always written short stories, and when I left college I…
Louise O’Neill
Asking for It. Quercus, €13.99; Kindle, €8.90 AT 18, Emma O’Donahue is beautiful, smart and supremely confident. She’s also controlling and fond of getting her own way. There’s a party. Keen to prove she’s not risk averse,…
Jo Spain
Jo started her career as a Freelance journalist, but she’s always been interested in politics, and in 2007 she ran for election, and almost won. After that, she joined Leinster House as a parliamentary administrator, working…
Kevin Stevens
HEY, Freak — still on hunger strike? — So starts A Lonely Note, the story of Tariq, a teenage Iraqi boy living in the states, who is bullied for being different. It’s a tough life. His…
Debut Roundup September and October, 2015
Mrs Engels. Gavin McCrea. Scribe. ‘No one understands men better than the women they don’t marry, and my own opinion – beknown only to God – is that the difference between one man and another doesn’t…
E.R. Murray
From a difficult background, Elizabeth excelled at school. “Books were my sanctuary.” Working to put herself through university, she then became a primary school teacher, working with children with special needs and emotional problems. After six…
John Boyne. Beneath the Earth
JOHN BOYNE has already proved that he’s a versatile writer. He had written some excellent takes on historical events even before 2006, when The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas made him a household name; and he…