Secondhand Irish Biography Books

'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...

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...

'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,...

In his highly addictive style, Gene Kerrigan effortlessly reconstructs the Ireland of the 1950s and early 1960s in which he grew up. An adult world of absolute moral certainties, casual...

* `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...

Originally published in 1992, this childhood memoir, revised and augmented, now has the status of a modern Irish classic. On his first trip abroad, Adrian Kenny observes that the signs...

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...

Dr Tony Holohan served as Chief Medical Officer in Ireland for 14 years, but only really became known to the public during the Covid 19 pandemic. During this time his...

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...

THE IRISH TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLERAN POST BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR'Gorgeous' Pandora Sykes'A rare and beautiful book' Marian Keyes'Tender, sad and side-splittingly funny' Annie MacManus'A delight' Dara O BriainSeamas O'Reilly's...

LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITINGTwo days after the Winter Solstice in 2019 Kerri and her partner M moved to a small, remote railway cottage in the heart...

This autobiography describes the first ten years of the life of Christy Kenneally, a working-class Cork northsider who lost his mother when he was five years old. The book captures...

'A Dictionary of Irish Biography' is an essential reference book containing brief biographies of nearly 1,700 noteworthy and lesser-known Irish men and women. The only single volume A-Z to summarise...

'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...

"Marie Duffy is one of the best choreographers in the world. She has been my dance master and right-hand person since 1996. She is like my twin sister. I will...

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....

LONGLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2021'One of the year's funniest books' i Paper'Funny, smart, soulful and sometimes devastating ... It made me laugh and cry' EMILIE PINE, author of...

Kathy O'Beirne's earliest memories are of being battered and sexually abused. Unable to confide in anyone about the beatings she regularly received from her father or about the boys who...

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