Glenn Patterson novel 'Gull' onDeLorean in Belfast offers tale of hope over reality

When John DeLorean brought the production of his gull-winged sportscar to Belfast it brought hope to a troubled city. A novel inspired by those events offers fresh insights into a compelling tale, says Declan Burke.

GULL, Glenn Patterson’s tenth novel, opens in late 1982 with a short chapter recounting the bitter end of John DeLorean’s attempt to establish a car manufacturing empire in Belfast.

Edmund Randall, DeLorean’s head of logistics in Belfast, makes a doomed dash to New York with bearer bonds that will allow the Dunmurry manufacturing plant to stay in business, only to discover that DeLorean has left New York for Los Angeles, thus allowing the time limit for the financial rescue package to lapse.