Secondhand Irish Biography Books

RELIVE THE HALCYON DAYS OF HURLING THROUGH TWO TITANS OF THE SPORTMackey and Ring is a joint biography of the legendary and almost mythical hurling figures of Mick Mackey and...

Obsessed with the burden of being an only son of an only son, John Joyce himself fathered 17 children with his long-suffering wife (despite many affairs and many engagements, he...

Jesuit, soldier, academic, trade unionist, social radical, lifelong Irish Language promoter, friend of the Travellers, National Chaplain of Pax Christi, advocate for the revival of the Western Rail Corridor from...

'Writers live as the work dictates, a solitary, sometimes deeply frustrating life, with moments of secret joy when the sentence hits the note, gets the meaning exactly as required.'For over...

After more than three years of suffering from Alzheimer's disease, the novelist and philosopher Iris Murdoch died in January 1999. Early that month she was taken to a home for...

I have always believed that if we choose the right dream and pursue it determinedly enough, it will come true. It is not a question of if but of when....

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...

'Derry Girls meets David Sedaris' Elske Rahill 'The writing is full of energy and originality' Irish Times Growing up on the Falls Road in 1990s Belfast, Alix O'Neill has seen...

Ballybunion to the River Kwai is the remarkable story of Don Kennedy's harrowing experience as an Irish prisoner of war under the Japanese from 1942-45. Vividly narrated by Don's son...

In October 1952 The Leader , a political and cultural magazine published an unsigned 'Profile' of the poet, Patrick Kavanagh which he considered offensive. He sued The Leader (and its...

His work has long been recognised for its innovation and his reputation for clashes with the so-called gardening 'establishment' are famous. He has won many accolades including Silver Gilt at...

This volume brings together John Bayley's books dedicated to the memory of his wife, Iris Murdoch. Bayley's account of his long and loving marriage to the great novelist Iris takes...

In the summer of 1964, twenty-one-year-old Gillies MacBain arrives in Dublin off the ferry from England with only his bicycle, a suitcase and a tent to his name. Young, handsome...

In his talks to communities throughout the length and breath of Ireland, John Lonergan finds himself coming back to one theme: the importance of kindness. It is an unexpected theme...

'A triumph of family story-telling' Hugo Hamilton, author of The Pages.A tale of three journeys, the final one a successful pursuit of shadows' Myles DunganGrowing up in Waterford, Tom McGrath...

GET READY FOR IRELAND'S CLARKSON'S FARM WITH SOCIAL MEDIA STARS FARMER PHIL AND HIS WIFE LIVThe Stewart family has farmed their land in Co. Longford since 1938 when Farmer Phil's...

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...

Sean O'Connor was born in Francis Street, in the Liberties of Dublin, a neighbourhood famous over the centuries for the sturdy independence of its people.Now, in this evocative and affectionate...

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'An unadulterated delight...suffused with a sense of love and very, very funny' Maggie O'Farrell It's 2004 and Anne Enright, one of Ireland's most remarkable writers, has...

'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...

The warm, rich and fascinating memoir of beloved broadcaster Tommie Gorman.When Tommie Gorman was growing up in Sligo in the 1960s, struggle was never far away but his household had...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING - HIGHLY COMMENDED'A special, beautiful, many-faceted book' Amy Liptrot'A remarkable piece of writing . . . Luminous' Robert Macfarlane'Eloquent . . ....

Claire Walsh spent her twenties living the life she thought she was supposed to live, all the while playing hide and seek with depression. As a result, the road to...

Born in Limerick in 1891, John Edward or 'Ned' Daly was the only son in a family of nine. Ned's father, Edward, an ardent Fenian, died before his son was...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING - HIGHLY COMMENDED'Remarkable' Robert Macfarlane'Beautiful' Amy Liptrot'Powerful, unflinching . . . Part hymn to nature, part Troubles memoir' GuardianKerri ni Dochartaigh was...