'Destined to be a classic' Sunday Independent
'Gabriel Byrne tells his story brilliantly' - Edna O'Brien
'Dazzles with unflinching honesty' Washington Post
'An absolutely marvellous book' - Colm Toibin
Born to working-class parents and the eldest of six children, Gabriel Byrne harboured a childhood desire to become a priest. Four years later, Byrne had been expelled from an English seminary and he quickly returned to his native Dublin. There he took odd jobs as a messenger boy and a factory labourer to get by. In his spare time he visited the cinema, where he could be alone and yet part of a crowd. It was here that he could begin to imagine a life beyond the grey world of '60s Ireland.
It was a friend who suggested Byrne join an amateur drama group, a decision that would change his life forever and launch him on an extraordinary forty-year career in film and theatre. Moving between sensual recollection of childhood in a now almost vanished Ireland and reflections on stardom in Hollywood and on Broadway, often through the lens of addiction. Hilarious and heartbreaking Walking With Ghosts is a lyrical homage to the people and landscapes that ultimately shape our destinies.



![Cooper, Matt PREORDER NONFICTION New Matt Cooper: Dynasty [2025]](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/cooper-matt-matt-cooper-dynasty-2025-9781804188989-1182308950_{width}x.jpg?v=1772034476)


![Freyne, Patrick IRISH BIOGRAPHY Patrick Freyne: OK, Let's Do Your Stupid Idea [2020] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/freyne-patrick-patrick-freyne-ok-let-s-do-your-stupid-idea-2020-paperback-1159270009_{width}x.jpg?v=1754579096)
![Keogh, Rachael UNKNOWN Rachael Keogh: Dying to Survive [2009] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/keogh-rachael-rachael-keogh-dying-to-survive-2009-paperback-60435259687251_{width}x.jpg?v=1744464026)