Irish Biography

At a crossroads in her life, Grainne Lyons set out to travel Ireland's west coast on foot. She set a simple intention: to walk in the footsteps of eleven pioneering...

Stories to inspire.Stories to connect.Extraordinary moments in which women's lives changed forever.Exhilarating, heartbreaking and ultimately inspiring, The Day That Changed My Life is a remarkable collection of stories of Ireland's...

The story of the remarkable Tom Crean who ran away to sea aged 15 and played a memorable role in Antarctic exploration. He spent more time in the unexplored Antarctic...

* `The Loneliest Boy in the World - he has only seagulls as playmates.' 1949 newspaper article * Gearoid Cheaist O Cathain had a unique childhood - he was the...

When Ronan Smith was in his twenties, his father, the theatre impresario Brendan Smith, developed obvious signs of early onset Alzheimer's disease but steadfastly refused to acknowledge it. Brendan ran...

'Poignant ... A meditation on life, love and the importance of nature' IRISH TIMESWhen they were in their twenties, Niall Williams and Christine Breen made the impulsive decision to leave...

Alice Taylor brings the reader with her on her 80th birthday year.Alice had a big birthday on the horizon, the village was about to celebrate many milestones, and she had...

'Like nothing else you will read' Hilary MantelTop 25 History Books of the Year, The Times - the perfect gift for book lovers this Christmas!Every day a beloved father dies....

Unbowed: A Soldier's Journey Back from Paralysis is the story of a dramatic recovery from diagnosed quadriplegia to a level of functionality rarely seen.Billy Hedderman was body boarding on the...

Patrick 'Paddy' Reilly is an Irish folk singer and guitarist. Born in Rathcoole, County Dublin, he is one of Ireland's most famous balladeers and is best known for his renditions...

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...

'Life had brought me to the edge of myself and here I was feeling like I was on the edge of the world.'After moving back to her homeplace on the...

In 1993, aged twenty, Carmel Mc Mahon left Ireland for New York, carrying $500, two suitcases and a ton of unseen baggage. It took years, and a bitter struggle with...

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...

Nobody thought Rory O'Connor would make it - written off as 'thick' at school he struggled to find a career he felt he could succeed in. When a hot tip...

'Keelin's compelling story is as powerful as the woman she was.' Liz NugentJoan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking is a masterpiece. This ranks alongside. How can such a beautifully...

No. 1 BestsellerA successful property developer in England, the Sligo-born Tom Gilmartin had ambitious plans for major retail developments in Dublin in the late 1980s. Little did he know that...

An Irish epic, The Maximalist documents in unflinching detail and with great subtlety the meteoric rise and slow unravelling of an Irish icon. 'Biography of the Year.' The Sunday Times'Biography...

The Sunday Times Top Ten BestsellerSuzanne suffered five heart attacks and made it through open heart surgery. But even that pales in comparison to the horrors she faced as a...

Shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize 2019'[A] painfully intense, courageous and gripping account of [Fanning's] journey to the underworld of madness and back. This is a brave and instructive book.'...

As a Facebook moderator, Chris Gray made a living looking at graphically violent images and reviewing some of the internet's most toxic debates. Following a short training induction, he was...

Duine de sharscealaithe na GaeilgeIn Eanair 1952, se bliana sula bhfuair Peig Sayers bas, thionscain Coimisiun Bealoideasa Eireann agallaimh lei agus i in ospideal Naomh Anna, Baile Atha Cliath. Bhi...

Riverdance exploded across the stage at Dublin's Point Theatre one spring evening in 1994 during a seven-minute interval of the Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Ireland. It was a watershed...

'In my life, I've lost a twin, had an adored sister-in-law suffer a fatal asthma attack at just 31, my brother was murdered, a cherished brother-in-law died in his 40s...

Nuala O'Faolain's first memoir Are You Somebody? became a literary sensation and an international bestseller when it was first published by New Island Books in 1996. It launched a new...

'Her highly personal and reflective memoir ... is a must-read for anyone who cares about our role in a changing world' Barack Obama THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER NAMED ONE OF THE...

In the pieces brought together in Writing Home, Polly Devlin OBE, most bewitching of writers, covers subjects that range over her whole life and thought. She writes about places: about...

WINNER OF BOOK OF THE YEAR, NARRATIVE NON-FICTION BRITISH BOOK AWARDS 2021Rediscover the natural world with the multi-award winning phenomenon and youngest ever major literary prize winner in UK history.'Miraculous...

'The path I have travelled, the things I have done and the people I have met in crisis situations have given me a window into those qualities that make us...

'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...

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...

Dear Gay was an instant bestseller when it was published in 2023. PS Gay brings readers more letters and memories from the listeners of Ireland's most iconic radio show. PS...

Call it a miracle, fate, pure luck, or just another day in the city where nothing is usual, but in 1991 Jimmy Breslin narrowly escaped death - which inspired him...

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...

Goldberg played a pivotal role in the social, economic and cultural development of Cork and in changing attitudes towards Ireland's Jewish community. This title provides a fascinating look at an...