Irish Biography

'Touching and nostalgic' GUARDIAN'She conjures places as vividly as feelings, and feelings as exactly as her surroundings' VOGUE 'It is the only intimate and un-angry expression of the feelings of...

I have always believed that if we choose the right dream and pursue it determinedly enough, it will come true. It is not a question of if but of when....

James Joyce remains a mysterious figure, and yet his books concern his own life: his friends, loves, and above all the city of Dublin. Professor Chester Anderson here examines Joyce...

Jonathan Swift is an infinitely intriguing figure in the literary and political history of England and Ireland. Best known as the author of GULLIVERS TRAVELS, he was an ordained clergyman...

Punk protagonist, legendary drinker, Irish musical icon. The complete and extraordinary journey of the Pogues' notorious frontman from outcast to national treasure has never been told - until now.A Furious...

The warm, rich and fascinating memoir of beloved broadcaster Tommie Gorman.When Tommie Gorman was growing up in Sligo in the 1960s, struggle was never far away but his household had...

After a failed suicide attempt and recovery in the mad house, Martha is heading for France to be reunited with the one true love of her life. Father Ralph Fitzgerald...

For the Anfield faithful, Jamie Carragher represents everything that is great about Liverpool Football Club, prompting the Kop to sing 'we all dream of a team of Carraghers'. The club's...

American or Irish, Republican or Democrat: many people are one or the other, but Larry Donnelly has been all of them. Born into an Irish American political dynasty, Larry was...

'Incredibly moving' --Anne Enright, winner of the Man Booker PrizeAn Affair with My Mother by Caitriona Palmer: a moving and gripping story of love, denial and a daughter's quest for...

Fergal Keane is one of the BBC's best known foreign correspondents. His latest work for Radio 4 was "Letter to Daniel", an emotional message to his newborn son. This work...

In October 1952 The Leader , a political and cultural magazine published an unsigned 'Profile' of the poet, Patrick Kavanagh which he considered offensive. He sued The Leader (and its...

THE PHENOMENAL MEMOIR OF A NATIONAL TREASUREAfter Kellie Harrington won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, the Irish public recognized her as not merely a sporting hero, but a deeply inspirational...

Pre-order the very first autobiography from Brendan O'Carroll______________'What forking trouble are you in now?' Mammy asked. She opened the letter and I waited.'It's nothing, just the result of your check-up.'...

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...

A quarter of a century ago, Canon Hilary Wakeman became the Rector of a Church of Ireland parish in the far southwest of Ireland, a very different world from her...

We read because we want to experience lives and emotions beyond our own, to learn, to see with others' eyes.The 32 is a celebration of working-class voices from the island...

Frank McCourt continues his life story in the brilliant, bestselling sequel to the million-selling 'Angela's Ashes'. 'Angela's Ashes' was a publishing phenomenon. Frank McCourt's critically-acclaimed, lyrical memoir of his Limerick...

Stunning reissue of the phenomenal worldwide bestseller: Frank McCourt's sad, funny, bittersweet memoir of growing up in New York in the 30s and in Ireland in the 40s. It is...

'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...

A stolen past, a search for the truth, two lives changed foreverBorn out of wedlock in Dublin in 1937, Phyllis grew up in a tough, church run orphanage. She thought...

How do you teach a mother to love her child, when she's still a child herself?Jeanie Doyle nurtures, teaches and cares for young and dysfunctional mums, showing them how to...

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...

In a memoir of staggering power and candour, award-winning journalist Fergal Keane addresses his experience of wars of different kinds, some very public and others acutely personal. During his years...

On Valentine's Day in 1981, a fire in the Stardust nightclub in Dublin killed 48 young people, and left behind one orphan, Lisa Lawlor. Now, on the 40th anniversary, Lisa...

'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...

The road to Croke Park can be a long one, but for Leitrim hurler Zak Moradi it was longer than most. Born in a refugee camp in Ramadi, Iraq, at...

'As skilful, stylish and pacy as one would expect from so adept a novelist' Sunday TelegraphEdna O'Brien depicts James Joyce as a man hammered by Church, State and family, yet...

Gerry's career came about almost by accident. His early days in Downpatrick were a struggle. His alcoholic father abandoned the family, his mother worked all the hours she could, providing...

Phil Quinlan was a sports-mad fifteen year old when he packed his bag one Sunday morning in 1989 to play a game of football. A clash of heads on the...

First published in Irish by An Gum in 1965, Seosamh Mac Grianna's magnificent autobiographical novel Mo Bhealach Fein is translated here for the first time into English by Micheal O...

THE GLOBALIST is the first in-depth biography of an international power-broker who was instrumental in shaping the global economy that we know today. PETER SUTHERLAND played a defining role in...

It was June 10th, Barnacle Day. He saw her in Nassau Street and they stopped to talk. She thought his blue eyes were those of a Norseman. He was twenty-two,...

'My Name is Philippa offers every reader a story that will change their heart. So be prepared, with a mind open enough to hear Philippa's story, to feel altered by...

In early 2020, Rosanna Davison gave a raw and sincere account of the 14 miscarriages she had suffered before choosing to have a baby via gestational surrogate. Then, just weeks...

'What I wanted was for Malachy Finegan to be exposed. I felt that the wee boy I had been might be stepping from the darkness, and I needed him to...

Winner of the An Post Irish Sports Book of the Year AwardLonglisted for The William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award'Not only the sports book of the year, the...

'Are you going into town today?' she says, which annoys me because it's something she says all the time, having forgotten she said it before, and I say, 'Jesus, Mum,...