Secondhand Irish Biography Books

'Captivating' Manchan Magan'Sublime' Eoghan DaltunSean Ronayne always knew he was different. Nicknamed 'nature boy' by the other kids, as a child he struggled to fit in and regularly escaped to...

Peter Somerville-Large grew up with his brother Phil in a nursery world at the top of a smart house in Dublin from where they could watch Fitzwilliam Place far below,...

Exploring the complexity of identity labels through memoir with warmth, insight and signature humour, considering how we might figure out who the hell we are in a world so eager...

When Desmond FitzGerald died in September 2011, obituaries paid tribute to his involvement with organizations such as the Irish Georgian Society and the Irish Architectural Archive. But over the previous...

In fact, two places called home ...For over sixty years, Alice Taylor has lived in the village of Innishannon, the gateway to West Cork. But her childhood was spent on...

'This is the most gripping book I've read in ages ... It is beautifully written, fascinating, disturbing and often very funny.' Roddy Doyle The childhood world of Hugo Hamilton, born...

Throughout his life, Michael Harding has lived with a sense of emptiness - through faith, marriage, fatherhood and his career as a writer, a pervading sense of darkness and unease...

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...

The attraction of THE VILLAGE, more perhaps than its illustrious predecessors, lies in the fact that Alice Taylor has captured it so well. Leave aside for a moment the extraordinary...

W.M.("Bertie") Smyllie was editor of The Irish Times from 1934 until his death in 1954 and remains one of the legendary figures in Irish journalism. Short-sighted, massively overweight, given to...

By age seven, Rebecca Quin, now known in the ring as Becky Lynch, was already defying what the world expected of her.Raised in Dublin, Ireland in a devoutly Catholic family,...

'Honest, funny, heartfelt ...I loved it' Cathy Kelly Clear-eyed, touching, forthright and funny, In My Mother's Shoes is Alison Walsh's delightful account of three generations of mothers -- her Nana,...

Colm Toibin's Lady Gregory's Toothbrush is a beautiful insight into the life of outspoken Irishwoman, Augusta Gregory.A remarkable figure in Celtic history, she was married to an MP and land-owner,...

Between 2016 and his retirement in 2022, Assistant Garda Commissioner John O'Driscoll was the public face of Garda operations targeting organised crime. This put him at the centre of a...

#1 Irish Times Bestseller!A book about hope when the world was collapsing Irish TimesA modern travel tale, part personal pilgrimage, part political quest that captures the power of human resilience"McKiernan...

'An absolutely brilliant read' Patrick Kielty, Late Late Show, RTE'Blisteringly honest . . . hilarious, traumatic, joyful and terrifying. Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy read!' Liz...

Welcome to the house of fun.It's the early 1980s and Fiona Neary and her family have recently moved back from England to the family farm. Fiona's huge-hearted mum decides to...

Meet Peig McManus, an unforgettable Dublin character whose story will make you laugh and cry.-Her memoir of a 1940s' childhood is recounted with candour and wit, as she describes her...

For years the author of In Time's Eye was known only to his devoted followers in The Irish Times as 'Y'. In this book 'Y' reveals himself as Douglas Gageby,...

On the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, the destitute children swarm and the rich turn a blind eye. To these needy children "Mama Tina" has become an irrepressible, unorthodox...

This is the first biography of Denis Johnston, barrister, theatre director, film-maker, pioneering television producer, war correspondent, essayist and celebrated playwright. Johnston was of Ulster Presbyterian stock, born into Edwardian...

For more than 30 years, Gay Byrne has broadcast on Irish radio and television. He tells his life story of growing up in Dublin and how he became a household...

Set in 1950s rural Ireland, Rathcormick is an engaging tale of a large and happy family: a stern and domineering Papa, a warm and practical Mama, their two daughters and...

For once, these men are the objects; I am the subject. Me, me, me.Rosemary Mac Cabe was always a serial monogamist - never happier than when she was in a...

'A great read' Brendan O'Connor, RTEIn nearly three decades as a performer, Tommy Tiernan has never wanted to play it safe. So, when it came to doing a chat show,...

Fr Tony Coote was just fifty-three years old in February 2018 when he was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease. Just a few short months later, he found himself confined to...

'Fascinating . . . O'Driscoll's research is impressive' Ben Macintyre, The Times'It would be hard to overstate how good this book is . . . a fantastic read' Sunday Independent'Superb...

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...