Irish Biography

In this latest instalment of Martha Long's real-life account of abuse, deprivation and cruelty at the hands of her mother's partner and the establishment, Martha is now 16 and her...

On hearing that Jackser, her childhood abuser, is seriously ill, Martha is elated, thinking that finally she will be able to watch him suffer. But in the hospital she sees...

Maire Nic Shiubhlaigh was a founder actress of the Abbey Theatre and its first leading lady on its opening in 1904, when she played the title role in W. B....

'I feel my story had to be told. So much evil was done there was a voice inside me shouting, "Justice".' With no one to confide in, Kathy suffered in...

On St Patrick's Night, 1961, Liam Clancy, with his brothers, Paddy and Tom, and their friend Tommy, made their debut musical appearance on the American television programme, the "Ed Sullivan...

This is the inspiring story of Michael Flynn, a struggling furniture salesman from Pearse Street, who reinvented himself to become one of Ireland's most beloved national figures.Starting with Mick's formative...

Kit de Waal and her brother and sisters had a hard childhood in the West Midlands. Her Irish mother didn't feed them, didn't believe in Christmas or birthdays, and thought...

Beneath the Surface is the powerful and deeply human memoir from No.1 bestselling author and renowned mental health advocate Dr. Harry Barry. In this moving life story, Dr. Barry pulls...

THE IRISH TIMES BESTSELLERWhen death is a way of life . . .In A Life Among the Dead, David McGowan, Ireland's best known Funeral Director, and subject of the Award-winning...

David Trimble was one of the most influential figures in modern British and Irish history. A Nobel Laureate, he negotiated the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 that helped to secure...

From a childhood shaped by neglect and violence to three brutal years spent in a cold, indifferent convent, Breda O'Toole's early life was marked by abandonment. When she sought help,...

Ita Doyle: 'In all my life I have lived in two houses, had two jobs, and one husband. I'm a very interesting person'Rory & Ita, Roddy Doyle's first non-fiction book,...

'I have come to think of all the metal in my body as artificial stars, glistening beneath the skin, a constellation of old and new metal. A map, a tracing...

In 1825 26 year old Bridget Cleary disappeared from her house in rural Tipperary. At first, some said that the fairies had taken her into their stronghold in a nearby...

In 1983 an off-duty prison officer was shot by the IRA in cold blood on a Dublin street. Over 40 years later, no one has been convicted of his murder....

'We walk in the footprints of great women, women who lived through hard times on farms, in villages, towns and cities. The lives of these women are an untold story....

When he retired in 2018 Pat Marry had been instrumental in solving dozens of serious crimes, including many murders.But as a newly qualified garda in 1985, Marry had no idea...

'There's great power in talking, but there's greater power in laughing. Even the best doctor in the world would be hard pushed to find a treatment with better medicinal properties...

For many of its participants, the Second World War was the most intense period of their lives - with horizons widened by grief, strangeness and excitement. Peter Ross, graduated from...

'The prospect of taking over the 'Regarding Ireland' column scared me witless. If they'd changed the title to 'Regarding Reality TV' or even 'Regarding Roisin', I might have been slightly...

A powerful account of an obsessive love affair from the bestselling author of 44: A Dublin MemoirWhen Peter Sheridan's father died unexpectedly, the loss devastated his close-knit family. However, despite...

Long before he became President of Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams was a civil rights activist who took part in sit-ins, marches and protests in Northern Ireland. Along with hundreds of...

Following last year's bestselling collection of interviews from the RTE TV series The Meaning of Life, Gay Byrne is back with more big questions - and more interesting answers.With Peter...

Joyce, June and Paula Kavanagh were three sisters born to a family of ten in Ballyfermot, Dublin in the 1960s. Their father abused all three of them in the family...

With his trademark wit and honesty, Peter Sheridan has written an enthralling account of his parents' relationship, from their first encounter over a poker game in a Dundalk canteen to...

NUMBER 1 BESTSELLER IN THE IRISH NON-FICTION CHARTS"Rough Beast is shocking, important and unputdownable." Roddy DoyleRough Beast is Mairia Cahill's harrowing story of her life and of what she went...

'A wit and wisdom that harkens back to an age of enlightenment' - RON PERLMAN, ACTOR'A meditation guide from a man with a mind most unlikely to be conducive to...

'The first time Shocks saw Amber coming, he lowered his head so she could wrap her arms around his nose. It was as if they understood each other's pain. Like...

The BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Edna O'Brien's The Country Girls trilogy begins in August 2019.I thought of life's many bounties, to have known the extremities of joy and sorrow,...

A haunted record of a life devoted to the visual art of the cinema and the written word, by Ireland's greatest director and one of her finest novelists.In this vivid,...

When she fell pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952, Philomena Lee was sent to the convent of Roscrea, Co. Limerick, to be looked after as a fallen woman'...

This book charts the career of a man who has always been respected for his compassion, quirky way of thinking and fearless opposition to orthodox psychiatry. More importantly, he tells...

In this long-awaited bioraphy, Wilde the legendary Victorian - brilliant writer and conversationalist, reckless flouter of social and sexual conventions - is brought to life. More astute and forbearing, yet...