A few years ago, I was researching an article about mother-and-baby institutions in Ireland for my job at the BBC and had gotten stuck. The assignment felt like wading through cement, interview after interview was refused, documents were difficult to access and survivors were not keen to go on the record. On top of everything else, the topic seemed so vast – the institutions had been in operation for over seven decades in Ireland – and it was hard to …
Category: Ireland

We are over half way through the Read Irish Women Challenge 2022 and it has been wonderful to behold the enthusiasm and response on social media. Thank you to everyone …

#ReadIrishWomenChallenge22 #RIWC22 It’s April so I’m back once again with the Read Irish Women Challenge – the month where we celebrate outstanding books by Irish women. Starting on April 1st, …

4 STARS For Fans Of: Carmen Maria Machado, Emma Donoghue, Deirdre Sullivan Highlights: “the skellington dance” / “red market” / “lemons” / “instinct” How To Gut A Fish is the …
The Winter Guest is set in early 1921, at the height of The War of Independence- a messy, brutal war with no front lines, that often placed Irishman against Irishman. …
It all started, as many stories do, when I was looking for something else. While writing a previous book, I consulted the genealogy section of Clare County Library’s website for …

After much consideration and reading, here are our bookseller's favourite reads of 2021. In here you'll find titles old and new, with enough recommendations to keep you going well into …
Serendipity is a wonderful thing. Without it, I would never have written A Little History of the Future of Dublin. Trevor White, director of the wonderful Little Museum of Dublin, …
Jo Kerrigan tells us how her latest book came about. Over the past twenty years or so, Richard and I have been exploring Ireland’s scenery and history for our books. …
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