Cillefoyle Park is a historical fiction novel about a bar man torn between the possibility of politics and the violence exploding on the streets of Derry at the height of The Troubles in the early1970’s. That’s the treacherous dilemma that Dermot Lavery finds himself in when an innocent friendship with a neighbour – a schoolteacher leads them both into a precarious web of secrecy and intrigue with all sides of the endless conflict. Caught in a nightmare world of secret negotiations for a ceasefire, his life spins on the edge of clandestine friendship, love, meetings and certain death at any wrong turn - a constant struggle with his conscience and the challenge of simply staying alive.
To be published soon - contact me for details
A Bump on the Road
A Bump on the Road is a book of 18 short stories emanating from the innocent years before secondary school, and the growing out of it. The stories reflect an observant child in Ireland attempting to understand the world around him. Family, The Church, The Troubles, secrets, ghost stories, leaving home, myths and legends. All this comes under the microscope of a child growing up. These stories are disguised memoirs – creative memoirs. Little nuggets of memories give birth to these flights of fancies. Read the preface for more details of the stories.
The reader is taken on a gamut of emotions in this rich and amusing journey of growing up in Ireland. Sorrow is never too far away. It allows the reader to get a glimpse into the mind of a young child - his thoughts, wishes and dreams as he ventures through the streets of his birth and beyond. The reader will engage and identify with the child as each adventure takes place.