When Lou (Reed) Met Edgar (Allan Poe) – Music Meets Literature

              There was time when being a writer and being a musician were two completely separate things. Writers were solitary, reclusive individuals who shuffled around in their pyjamas mumbling to themselves, while musicians were rock gods who strutted the stage, ingested massive quantities of illegal substances, and … well, …

Angel

Fernando sits alone in his room. He has lived in this room for many years. He goes outside sometimes. To eat mostly. To walk occasionally. Although there has been very little walking of late, a fact that will contribute to Fernando’s premature death at the age of 47. But that will be some years from …

The Triumph of “Green Book” Shows How Little the Academy Has Changed

Last Sunday night, Spike Lee won his first Oscar. At the press conference afterwards, he was asked for his reaction to Green Book winning Best Picture. At first, he demurred, but finally said: “I thought I was courtside at the Garden, and the ref made a bad call.” This was the quote that all the …

The Myth of the Pro-Life Rebellion

As the dust settles after the Referendum on the Eighth Amendment, those of us who voted “Yes” need to be very wary going forward. We have to be mindful of how the right-wing in this country will try – indeed, are already trying – to spin the historic result. After the results of the referendum …

The Literary Bucket List (Or How I Plan to Read Every Author Ever Published)

Like many fans of books, I’m a sucker for books on literature. Years ago, I bought a little book called Literature: A Crash Course. That book has pride of place on my bookshelf. It’s an overview of 3,000 years of writing from Homer to Cormac McCarthy, all in 130 pages. But – most importantly – …

“Broken Falls” – The Ireland/Newfoundland Connection

My debut novel Broken Falls is set in a fictional village in Newfoundland populated by people of Irish descent. In the course of my research, I realised that there is a very strong link between Ireland and Newfoundland. According to Wikipedia: In modern Newfoundland, many Newfoundlanders are of Irish descent. According to the Statistics Canada …

“Broken Falls” – Read A Free Excerpt!

My debut novel, Broken Falls, is on sale now. Here’s the blurb: “Wyoming cop, John Ryan, receives a package of letters from a recently deceased priest addressed to John’s late father begging his forgiveness, for something the priest had done. Unravelling the story behind the letters leads John to the remote fishing village of Broken Falls, Newfoundland, …

“Broken Falls” Book Trailer – A Thriller Teaser!

  My debut novel, Broken Falls, is on sale now. Here's the blurb: "Wyoming cop, John Ryan, receives a package of letters from a recently deceased priest addressed to John’s late father begging his forgiveness, for something the priest had done. Unravelling the story behind the letters leads John to the remote fishing village of Broken Falls, …

My Debut Novel “Broken Falls”

There’s an old writing maxim that you should always save or jot down any interesting articles or stories that you see. This was certainly true in my case. A news article that I read many years ago became the basis for my debut novel, Broken Falls, which is now on sale. The article in question …

We Are the New Resistance

In the past twenty-four hours, Bruce Springsteen spoke for the first time about the inauguration of Donald Trump. He said: “... our hearts and spirits are with the hundreds of thousands of women and men that marched yesterday in every city in America ... who rallied against hate and division and in support of tolerance, …

BuskAid – What’s It All About, Alfie?

If you follow me on social media, you may have seen me mentioning something called “BuskAid” over the past few weeks. So what is “BuskAid”? "BuskAid" was the brainchild of Tadhg Williams – musician, activist, and – yes – busker. The problem of homelessness reached crisis point in Ireland in 2016. The most recent figures …