Secondhand Irish Biography Books

Cal McCrystal takes the reader on two overlapping, very poignant journeys in Northern Ireland. One journey traverses the years and experiences of his childhood, and the other retraces some of...

Every young person is looking for freedom, but some have to fight harder than others ...In 1960s Ireland there was a special place for disabled children: behind the walls of...

'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,...

The past they tried to hide. His mother died from cancer in 1955. His father committed suicide shortly thereafter. Paddy Doyle was sentenced in an Irish district court to be...

The Making of an Artist is a fascinating portrayal of the formative years of Micheal MacLiammoir, actor, playwright, artist, linguist, raconteur and co-founder of the Gate Theatre. Born in Cockney...

Very funny and genuinely moving, THE EMPRESS OF IRELAND is an inspiring portrait of the unique and improbable friendship between Christopher Robbins, then an impoverished writer in his twenties, and...

With Time to Talk, Michael Healy-Rae established himself as a new storyteller, steeped in the traditions of rural Ireland. In A Listening Ear, his superior storytelling skills come once again...

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,...

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...

Today was his first climb to the top. He knew if he was there, watching, then she would never leave him. Her name was Bernadette and he climbed the shed...

'An unforgettable, freewheeling masterclass'Michael Magee, Nero Book Award-winning author of Close to Home 'Funny, nerve-wracking and utterly compelling'Colin Barrett, Booker Prize-longlisted author of Wild Houses'Extraordinary... A writer with a rare...

When seventy-year-old Maura Murphy discovered she had cancer, she left her husband of fifty years and started writing her memoirs. Born 'chronically ugly and as cross as a briar' into...

Well-known DJ Nikki Hayes has lived most of her life with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), a serious mental disorder marked by a pattern of ongoing instability in mood, behaviour, self-image...

A powerful and moving autobiography from a gifted writer who has been compared to Joyce and Yeats.'A book of sheer wonder. As an author he competes as an equal with...

'Reflections on a Life' offers short excursions into autobiography, informal evocations of particular incidents, times and places, and sharply-etched memories of individual people who have left an imprint on the...

The Ireland of the inter-war years was an island of remarkable contradictions. In spite of the highly moralistic attitude of Church and State, including an official censorship of publications, there...

'Quietly triumphant.' Donal Ryan 'Ambitious and gentle.' Belinda McKeon 'A terrific book.' Michael Harding In May 2020, John Connell finds himself, like so many others, confined to his local area,...

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...

Woven into the story of his life and the national events of his times are the equally dramatic changes in which he participated during his twenty-seven years with the Irish...