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AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

<p>‘Today’ show presenter Maura Derrane, Rebecca Murphy, ‘Today’ show presenter Dáithí Ó Sé, and Carina McNally, when Murphy was announced as the programme’s first time novelist competition winner last year. Picture: Gerard McCarthy</p>

culture

Author interview: Murphy’s debut explores real, honest stories through fiction

After announcing her debut novel ‘Blood & Water’ on national television last year, Rebecca Murphy is both excited and nervous at the prospect of people reading her work

<p>Doireann Ní Ghríofa at Waterstones, Cork, launching ‘Said the Dead’. When parked at Our Lady’s: ‘I could feel the sense of a shadow moving across and making its way into the car, through my body, through my fingertips into the book that I was trying to write.’ Picture: David Creedon</p>

culture

Author interview: Ní Ghríofa brings women of Our Lady’s out of the shadows

<p>Danielle McLaughlin: ‘I want to make something that leaves somebody with a little bit of hope or a sense that the world is a worthwhile place to be in. I hope readers will feel better about being in the world when they get to the end of the book.’ Picture: Ros Kavanagh</p>

culture

Author interview: ‘Rituals’ created by novelist’s collaboration with visual artist

Author interview: Striking first line eventually leads to an extraordinary twist

culture

Author interview: Striking first line eventually leads to an extraordinary twist

Author interview: How Irish dancing became the victim of its own success

culture

Author interview: How Irish dancing became the victim of its own success

My Life in Books: I feel that life is too short to read 'Don Quixote'

culture

My Life in Books: I feel that life is too short to read 'Don Quixote'

The Keanification of Ireland: Author Dave Hannigan on Roy Keane’s enduring influence

The Keanification of Ireland: Author Dave Hannigan on Roy Keane’s enduring influence

Author Dave Hannigan discusses Roy Keane’s roots, influence, and complex legacy in shaping modern Irish identity

Listen | Fri, 24 Apr, 2026

The 85th Annual Peabody Awards - Arrivals / Cocktails

Patrick Radden Keefe on human stories, tracing Irish family, and Russian espionage

Say Nothing author Patrick Radden Keefe has penned another gripping non-fiction classic. He tells Richard Fitzpatrick what drew him to the story of Zac Brettler

Mon, 13 Apr, 2026

Culture That Made Me: Katriona O’Sullivan, author of Poor, picks her touchstones

Culture That Made Me: Katriona O’Sullivan, author of Poor, picks her touchstones

Harper Lee, the Housewives of Beverly Hills, and the Two Norries feature among O'Sullivan's selections

Mon, 06 Apr, 2026

Author interview: For Tóibín, it’s all about keeping the show on the road

Author interview: For Tóibín, it’s all about keeping the show on the road

Currently trying out the opening for a new novel, Colm Tóibín is looking forwards to seeing his latest opera show at the 75th anniversary Wexford Opera Festival in October

Fri, 27 Mar, 2026

Author interview: Debut novel grew out of fascination with JFK’s visit

Author interview: Debut novel grew out of fascination with JFK’s visit

Neil Tully works as a dentist in a practice on Shandon St in Cork City; in the evening, he retires to an old garage in his home in Bishopstown to indulge his creative passion

Fri, 20 Mar, 2026

My Life in Books: I have a list of five-star reads that I always go back to

My Life in Books: I have a list of five-star reads that I always go back to

Author Carmel Harrington often picks up a Maeve Binchy or a Stephen King — depending on whether she needs comfort or escapism

Sun, 01 Mar, 2026

'The lack of women was a terrible deprivation': Melvyn Bragg on Oxford, Boris Johnson, and Trump

'The lack of women was a terrible deprivation': Melvyn Bragg on Oxford, Boris Johnson, and Trump

As he publishes his memoir, the legendary broadcaster also recalls how the Russians tried to recruit him as a spy

Tue, 24 Feb, 2026

Ryan Cahill: Irish fantasy writer happy to ride the genre's rise in popularity

Ryan Cahill: Irish fantasy writer happy to ride the genre's rise in popularity

Cahill is happy that the fantasy genre is not only more popular than ever — it is also gaining more respect in the books industry

Thu, 12 Feb, 2026

My Life in Books: ‘Reading provides an insight into a different world’

My Life in Books: ‘Reading provides an insight into a different world’

Multi-million-copy bestselling author of the DI Lottie Parker series Patricia Gibney

Sat, 07 Feb, 2026

Musing on satire, power, and the long road to publication

Musing on satire, power, and the long road to publication

Aoife Feeney’s second novel is a satire, and satire in Feeney’s hands is not a decorative mode; it is a way of taking aim at what societies decide they must not question

Fri, 06 Feb, 2026

Beginner’s pluck: Writer and teacher Eilish Fisher

Beginner’s pluck: Writer and teacher Eilish Fisher

Written in verse, this glorious children’s book is one to treasure

Sat, 24 Jan, 2026

Beginner’s pluck: Full-time writer Rebecca Hannigan

Beginner’s pluck: Full-time writer Rebecca Hannigan

Ten years ago, meeting a writer in a pub, Rebecca Hannigan realised that ‘normal’ people like her could become writers

Sat, 17 Jan, 2026

Beginner’s pluck: Artist Ted Turton

Beginner’s pluck: Artist Ted Turton

This memoir is so wonderfully entertaining and visually sumptuous that it leaves you with awe and envy

Sat, 10 Jan, 2026

Beginner’s pluck: Insurance broker worker Deidre O’Neill

Beginner’s pluck: Insurance broker worker Deidre O’Neill

'Remnants of Our Past' gives a real sense of Ireland’s social history

Sat, 03 Jan, 2026

Beginner’s pluck: Food entrepreneur Eunice Power

Beginner’s pluck: Food entrepreneur Eunice Power

'My Irish Kitchen Table' is much more than just a book of easy-to-follow recipes, it also includes anecdotes and memories from Eunice’s life

Sat, 27 Dec, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Full-time writer Lucy Steeds

Beginner’s pluck: Full-time writer Lucy Steeds

'The Artist' is quite brilliant, a gloriously written atmospheric debut exploring creativity

Sat, 20 Dec, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Multimedia journalist Adam Maguire

Beginner’s pluck: Multimedia journalist Adam Maguire

'The Bailout Babies' asks what has become of the generation, born in the boom, who had to contend with the crash?

Sat, 29 Nov, 2025

Author interview: Orlean’s open approach provides rich insight into storytelling world

Author interview: Orlean’s open approach provides rich insight into storytelling world

'Joyride' is a hugely entertaining and engaging account of Orlean’s adventures in writing written in her own imitable and impeccable style

Fri, 28 Nov, 2025

ICE Raid Louisiana Racetrack

Author interview: Eerie parallels in treatment of immigrant communities

Shifting demographics in the US partially explains why the Republican Party have turned further to the right in recent years — especially on immigration

Fri, 28 Nov, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Journal.ie columnist Carl Kinsella

Beginner’s pluck: Journal.ie columnist Carl Kinsella

This collection of funny, thought provoking essays investigate the way millennials relate to the world

Sat, 22 Nov, 2025

Author interview: From family fortunes to scandals, real-life drama of Dunnes dynasty

Author interview: From family fortunes to scandals, real-life drama of Dunnes dynasty

Matt Cooper’s new book reveals how the owners of retail empire have had triumphs but also turmoil over years, from kidnapping and addiction to a bitter battle for succession

Fri, 21 Nov, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Researcher and ambassador for Shine Cathy Shah

Beginner’s pluck: Researcher and ambassador for Shine Cathy Shah

'Rabbit Hole and Rainbows' charts Cathy’s mental health struggles; her trauma, her moments of stigma, silence, and despair, as she battles addiction and dysfunctional relationships

Sat, 15 Nov, 2025

Author interview: Youth facing challenges need ‘revolutionary changes’

Author interview: Youth facing challenges need ‘revolutionary changes’

Sara Cullen hopes her novel, 'Blood Red Sky', will cause policymakers and adult readers to reflect on how we as a society view young people who get into trouble

Fri, 14 Nov, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Copywriter and translator Patrick Doherty

Beginner’s pluck: Copywriter and translator Patrick Doherty

'Pure Innocent Boy', which started as a short story, is a powerful, poignant account of deep dissociation

Sat, 08 Nov, 2025

IRELAND-ENVIRONMENT-CLIMATE-NATURE

Beginner's pluck: Poet, cinematographer and rewilder Randal Plunkett

Part biography, part a treatise on rewilding, 'Wild Thing' is an insightful and inspirational read

Sat, 01 Nov, 2025

Katriona O'Sullivan: 'Even in the darkest moments, there was so much brightness, too'

Katriona O'Sullivan: 'Even in the darkest moments, there was so much brightness, too'

As guest editor, Annmarie O’Connor wanted to interview a person who had faced the rubble of life. Here, she talks to Katriona O’Sullivan about picking up the pieces

Wed, 22 Oct, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Artist and writer Brendan Mac Evilly

Beginner’s pluck: Artist and writer Brendan Mac Evilly

'Deep Burn' is an absorbing novel, based in the world of conceptual art, it examines obsession, fame, and envy

Sat, 18 Oct, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Former politician Katherine Zappone

Beginner’s pluck: Former politician Katherine Zappone

'Love in a Time of Politics' is a fascinating, moving, and highly readable account of a life lived with conviction

Sat, 11 Oct, 2025

Jane Casey, Author of crime fiction. Photographed at her home in Wandsworth, London.

Author interview: Jane Casey on the Cork crime writing scene, stand-alone books, and her heroine Maeve Kerrigan

London-based Irish novelist Casey has released the latest book in the Maeve Kerrigan detective series but modestly tells Marjorie Brennan that she has none of her main character’s skills in sleuthing

Fri, 10 Oct, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Charity administrator Caragh Maxwell

Beginner’s pluck: Charity administrator Caragh Maxwell

'I loved 'Sugartown' for its rawness, its assured writing, and its empathetic characters. Caragh Maxwell is a writer to watch'

Sat, 04 Oct, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Television producer/director Frank Shouldice

Beginner’s pluck: Television producer/director Frank Shouldice

'Beneath the Cedar Tree' is a poignant, wise, and ultimately uplifting portrait of a troubled marriage

Sat, 27 Sep, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Freelance TV producer Gráinne Lyons

Beginner’s pluck: Freelance TV producer Gráinne Lyons

Heading north from Cape Clear 'Wild Atlantic Women' tells the story of 11 pioneering women along the way

Sat, 20 Sep, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Filmmaker and writer Dave Tynan

Beginner’s pluck: Filmmaker and writer Dave Tynan

The stories in 'We Used to Dance Here' explore frustrated ambitions, toxic masculinity, and life on the margins in a Dublin in flux

Sat, 13 Sep, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Company co-owner and director Joseph Birchall

Beginner’s pluck: Company co-owner and director Joseph Birchall

'I would love to have led a life like Beckett — to have lived in Paris with life being all about the writing'

Sat, 06 Sep, 2025

Author interview: Novel imagines Jane Austen falling in love at the seaside

Author interview: Novel imagines Jane Austen falling in love at the seaside

Paula Byrne, an Austen scholar, was inspired to write 'Six Weeks by the Sea' because the question she is most frequently asked about the author is 'did she ever fall in love?'

Fri, 05 Sep, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Former teacher Aisling Rawle

Beginner’s pluck: Former teacher Aisling Rawle

'The Compound' is an addictive, beautifully-paced look at consumerism and a wish for fame in a mildly dystopian future

Sat, 30 Aug, 2025

Chris Newens

Author interview: ‘Food is one of the most immediate languages any place speaks’

'Moveable Feasts' is divided into 20 chapters, each devoted to the search for a dish representative of one of Paris’ 20 arrondissements

Mon, 25 Aug, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Swedish photographer Lina Scheynius

Beginner’s pluck: Swedish photographer Lina Scheynius

'Diary of an Ending' is a hybrid of memoir and autofiction that explores ideas about art and creativity, sex, and passion

Sat, 23 Aug, 2025

Heather Clark by Beowulf Sheehan

Author interview: ‘I took a risk publishing this book but it meant a lot to me’

Heather Clark's 'The Scrapbook' shines a light on what men bore witness to as soldiers in the Second World War

Fri, 22 Aug, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Karin Walker’s brilliant summer read

Beginner’s pluck: Karin Walker’s brilliant summer read

This heartwarming novel focuses on three women as they negotiate huge life changes. Will their friendship survive all the deception?

Mon, 18 Aug, 2025

Beginner's pluck: Writer and student Austin Taylor

Beginner's pluck: Writer and student Austin Taylor

After deferring her place at Harvard Law School, Austin wrote her first novel. But it is her second novel, Notes on Infinity, again written during a year out of college, that has recently been published

Sat, 09 Aug, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Cork-born author Barbara Leahy

Beginner’s pluck: Cork-born author Barbara Leahy

Since leaving university, Barbara has worked full-time in admin — fitting writing in during evenings and at weekends

Sat, 02 Aug, 2025

Author interview: Celebrating the Irish brothers who captured their moments in time

Author interview: Celebrating the Irish brothers who captured their moments in time

The Horgan brothers from Youghal, Co Cork, were pioneers in the fields of photography and cinema, leaving behind an invaluable chronicle of a formative chapter in our creative history

Fri, 01 Aug, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Full-time writer Grace Flahive

Beginner’s pluck: Full-time writer Grace Flahive

Funny and heartwarming, 'Palm Meridian' novel portrays a realistic, yet not dystopian view of the future

Sat, 26 Jul, 2025

Author interview: Untold story of Irishman who survived a slave labour camp

Author interview: Untold story of Irishman who survived a slave labour camp

Don Ferguson, an accountant in Singapore during the Second World War ended up in a Japanese prisoner of war camp, and was lucky to survive to tell the tale

Fri, 25 Jul, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Full-time writer Hattie Williams

Beginner’s pluck: Full-time writer Hattie Williams

'Bitter Sweet' is fast-paced novel that deals with grief, past trauma, and relationship power play

Sat, 19 Jul, 2025

2014 Winter TCA Tour - Day 13

Author interview: Finding new life among the hidden worlds at the ‘Ends of the Earth’

'If life can thrive and survive under the ice in Antarctica, it might also be possible it can thrive in extraterrestrial environments too'

Fri, 18 Jul, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: Full-time writer Shane Tivenan

Beginner’s pluck: Full-time writer Shane Tivenan

The compassionate stories in this collection examine outsiders — showing interactions between the ‘lost’ and the ‘normal’ world

Sat, 12 Jul, 2025

Beginner’s pluck: English teacher and Waterford native Rose Keating

Beginner’s pluck: English teacher and Waterford native Rose Keating

These weird, unsettling stories in 'Oddbody' focused on the body explore themes of desire, anxiety, and shame. How far can the human form be pushed and subverted?

Sat, 05 Jul, 2025

Booker prize 2023

Author interview: ‘Gay life and history keeps on developing and changing’

The world of LGBTQ+ fiction is a completely different proposition now, and is flourishing thanks in no small part to writers such as Alan Hollinghurst

Fri, 04 Jul, 2025

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