Ajay Chowdhury, the inaugural winner of the Harvill Secker-Bloody Scotland prize, is a tech entrepreneur and theatre director. His children’s book – Ayesha and the Firefish, was published in 2016 and adapted into a musical which premiered in San Francisco. 
 
 
The Waiter (Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month), was published in 2021, and is the first in his critically-acclaimed crime series about Detective Kamil Rahman, an ex-policeman from Kolkata who has moved to Brick Lane in London. It is being adapted for television by Moonage Pictures.The Cook (Guardian Top Crime Books of the Year) was published in May 2022 to excellent reviews and deals with the issue of homelessness. The third book in the series – The Detective (Sunday Times Top Crime Books of the Year) – is about government surveillance and AI. The Spy (Longlisted Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing), the fourth book, sees Kamil infiltrate a terrorist cell. The Shadow (A Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month) is the latest book in the series.

Ajay Chowdhury

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Colm O'Regan

Just once, Ann Devine would like life to be straightforward. But there’s just too much drama knocking about for that to happen. 
 
Ann’s family is proving a handful at the moment. Her mother moves in after having a fall, her sister Ger is off ‘finding herself’ in India leaving Ann to look after her teenage, wide a-woke, niece Freya. Her daughter Jennifer is dealing with a love triangle that involves her mother-in-law-to-be. It’s all far from simple. 
 
Now Rory, her youngest, has set his sights on a future as a local TD and it’s all Ann can do not to box him up and post him off to the backend of wherever is furthest away from his local ‘mentor’, politician, and all-round chancer Patsy Duggan. Just to save him from himself. Of course, that’s not even an option because now the post office is closing down. The locals are up in arms, but what do the powers-that-be care about rural Ireland? Without really meaning to be, Ann finds herself in the thick of things – and things are getting dodgier by the minute. 
She only wanted to save the village, but sometimes even saviours need saving from themselves.

Ann Devine: Handle With Care

Emily Gillmor Murphy

Each September, thousands of students walk through the doors of University College and Trinity College, Dublin. This year, Olive and Tom will be among them. 
 
Eighteen-year-old Olive is fresh from the country, and her eyes are opened wide by the big-city goings on of her new friends. When she starts to be pursued by Tom, the scruffy maverick who's seduced half the girls she's met, she's adamant he's not for her. But when a tragedy befalls her family, it's Tom who proves her best friend - until that is, she discovers his real motivations. 
 
Tom has never thought further than the next party, the next girl, the next drink. But now, with his own broken family about to cast him off and his social habits spinning out of control, he seems to have destroyed his relationship with Olive. What started out as a stupid dare metamorphoses into something much more serious. 
 
Set against the backdrop of youth on the brink of adulthood, and capturing the contrasts of the haves versus the have-nots, the worldly versus the innocent, Emily Gillmor Murphy's YOU AND I is an assured debut that will transport readers straight to the rollercoaster experience of growing up and falling in love.

You and I

Martha Long

Lilly and Ceily Carney are only seven and twelve when their mother is cruelly taken from them, leaving them at the mercy of the Church and the authorities. 
 
This is a terrifying prospect in 1950s Dublin, where it is likely that the girls will end up in one of Ireland’s notorious Magdalen laundries – a fate they are determined to escape. 
 
When Father Flitters and the ‘Cruelty’ people arrive to take the children into care, Lilly and Ceily resist, and a riot breaks out. The girls are helped by kind Mister Mullins and his daughter Delia, but events lead to further tragedy and Lilly is left to fend for herself on the dangerous streets. Heartbroken, hungry and vulnerable, she looks like easy prey and it seems there will be no safe haven for her to find.

Run, Lily, Run

Claudia Carroll

Fans of Sophie Kinsella, Milly Johnson, Heidi Swain and Holly Martin will love this uplifting, beautifully written and gripping romantic comedy from bestselling author Claudia Carroll - Chick Lit at its very very best! 
 
'Claudia Carroll has done it again, with a cracking cast of supporting characters and a heroine you just want fate to smile on. Hugely enjoyable.' -- HEAT 
'Funny, quirky, romantic...It's impossible to put down once started.' -- MY WEEKLY 
'Captivating.' -- NOW magazine 
'I could not put this book down from the moment I read the first paragraph' -- ***** Reader review 
'A marvellous read' -- ***** Reader review 
'From the beginning I was hooked' -- ***** Reader review 
'Absolutely loved it' -- ***** Reader review 
'Made me want to read everything she's written or will write' -- ***** Reader review 
'Adorable! Funny!' -- ***** Reader review 
*********************************************************************************** 
WELL MAYBE JUST A LITTLE! 
 
Cassandra never set out to be a psychic, least of all a famous one, with her very own magazine column and a glamorous TV slot thrown in for good measure. Let's face it, it's not exactly the usual career choice a girl might make, now is it? But whether she likes it or not, ever since Cassandra was a little girl she's been able to see into the future. 
 
While she can make predictions with 100% accuracy for everyone around her, her psychic gift floats right out the window whenever there's a D.S.M. (decent single man) around that she actually fancies herself especially when that D.S.M happens to be her hot, new TV producer boss... 
 
It seems even being able to foretell the future can't protect Cassandra from what destiny has in store. And sometimes fate won't let you look before you love...

I Never Fancied Him Anyway

a funny, unputdownable rom-com from bestselling author Claudia Carroll

Gerry Thornley

Front Up, Rise Up is the story of Connacht’s remarkable journey to becoming the 2016 Pro12 champions. The story goes inside the dressing-room, takes in their unscheduled, week-long, bonding trek to Siberia and back for a European Challenge Cup game, and all the key twists and turns along the way. 
 
It brings us the characters in this Band of Brothers, from the locals such as captain John Muldoon from Portumna to their iconic fans’ favourite Bundee Aki – who like their talismanic coach Pat Lam is a Kiwi from Auckland of Samoan descent – and their Nigerian-born and Dublin-raised match-winner Niyi Adeolokun. 
 
The story takes in the province’s troubled professional history, which had them on the brink of extinction as a professional entity in 2003 and led to Connacht and their supporters marching to the IRFU offices in a successful bid to keep them afloat. 
 
It covers their dethroning of the champions Glasgow in the Sportsground in Galway and their stunning performance in the final against Leinster in Edinburgh. In more than two decades of professional rugby, there has been no story quite like it.

Front Up, Rise Up

The Official Story of Connacht Rugby

Mark O'Sullivan

In the freezing winter of 2010, with the Irish recession in full flow, property tycoon Dermot Brennan is found dead at his Dublin home. Leading the murder investigation is fifty-six-year-old Detective Inspector Leo Woods, an embittered former UN peacekeeper with a drug habit, a penchant for collecting masks and a face disfigured by Bell’s Palsy. DI Woods meets his match in Detective Sergeant Helen Troy, a bright and ambitious but impetuous young policewoman with a troubled family. 
 
A host of suspects quickly emerge – Brennan’s estranged son; two of the dead man’s former business associates with grudges against him; a young man whose life was ruined after his house, built by Brennan, was flooded; an arrogant sculptor who may or may not have been having an affair with Anna Brennan (and with their neighbour); and an ex-pat American gardener. Together, Woods and Troy weave their way through this tangled web to get to the shocking truth. 
 
Mark O’Sullivan is an exciting new voice in literary crime fiction. Already an acclaimed children’s fiction writer, he has produced in Crocodile Tears an excellent murder mystery, which has the depth of character of Kate Atkinson combined with the plotting and ambiguous moral codes of Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse.

Crocodile Tears

Eamon Dillon

Irish Travellers have never enjoyed a higher profile, at home and abroad, for good reasons and bad. On the one hand are the positive stories like the success of boxers such as John Joe Nevin and Tyson Fury, the popularity of Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and Paddy Doherty’s victory on Celebrity Big Brother. On the other are controversial news stories such as the Dale Farm stand-off and the recent convictions for slavery. 
 
Gypsy Empire delves into the heart of Traveller life, focusing on three aspects that have coloured perceptions of Travellers among the wider community: family feuds, bare-knuckle fights and trading. Many Irish Travellers are driven by the need to prove their status among their own, a powerful instinct epitomised by those who engage in brutal bare-knuckle fights. These bouts are fuelled by family feuds which sometimes erupt in vicious acts of violence. We meet many colourful characters, among them some of the world’s most prolific and gifted criminals, their self-reliance providing an edge over other crime gangs. 
 
This is a golden era for the Traveller clans which are expanding and growing like never before. Gypsy Empire takes the reader inside the hidden world of Irish Travellers.

Gypsy Empire

Gangland boss Harry Larkin has taken three bullets and lies dying in a Dublin hospital. Amongst his delusional ravings to Senior Ward Nurse Eveleen Morgan, one name stands out: Detective Inspector Leo Woods. Harry’s message for his old ‘friend’ Leo: find my daughter Whitney. 
Leo is drawn into the murky world of the Larkin family, a hell he thought he had escaped from thirty years earlier. With the help of Detective Sergeant Helen Troy, his search for Whitney turns up more questions than answers, more darkness than light. Who shot Harry Larkin? What secrets are the Larkins hiding? Is there a connection with the young hit-and-run victim lying beside Harry in the intensive care unit? Why is a Libyan intern at the hospital taking such an interest? And is Leo himself compromised by his past affair with Harry’s wife, Liz? 
While Woods and Troy struggle with the truth about a family built on deception, the search for Whitney becomes increasingly desperate. Leo is looking to the future, and a tentative relationship with Eveleen – but the past won’t let him go that easily.

Sleeping Dogs

Ken Bruen

Someone is scraping the scum off the streets of Galway, and they want Jack Taylor to get involved. A drug pusher, a rapist, a loan shark, all targeted in what look like vigilante attacks. And the killer is writing to Jack, signing their name: C-33. 
Jack has had enough. He doesn’t need the money, and doesn’t want to get involved. But when his friend Stewart gets drawn in, it seems he isn’t been given a choice. In the meantime, Jack is being courted by Reardon, a charismatic billionaire intent on buying up much of Galway, and begins a tentative relationship with Reardon’s PR director, Kelly. 
Caught between heaven and hell, there’s only one path for Jack Taylor to take: Purgatory.

Purgatory

A Jack Taylor Noir Thriller

Kate Beaufoy

One beautiful dress is the key to three brave women’s destinies… 
France 1919: Jessie is celebrating the last heady days of her honeymoon. But when her husband suddenly disappears she finds herself bereft. Until a chance encounter thrusts her into the centre of the intoxicating world of Parisian high life. 
Hollywood 1945: Lisa has come a long way from her quiet, unassuming life in London and is taking Hollywood by storm. But all that glitters is not gold, and as the smoke and mirrors of the lifestyle she so longed for shatter around her there are some secrets she can never escape. 
London 1965: Cat, headstrong and independent, drawn to danger and passionately opposed to injustice, has no idea of the legacy that precedes her. Once past secrets are unveiled, she has the chance to find out what liberty really means... 
An evocative story of survival, betrayal and the invincibility of love.

Liberty Silk

When Mitchell is released from prison after serving three years for a vicious attack he doesn't remember, he reluctantly finds himself caught up with Robert Gant, a ruthless lowlife with violent plans. 
 
Attempting to stay out of Gant's way, Mitchell finds work as a handyman at the mansion of a faded movie actress. When she eagerly plies him with cash, cars and sex, Mitch starts to wonder if even this job comes with a catch. 
 
But it isn't long before Mitchell's violent past catches up with him. When people close to him start getting hurt, Mitchell is forced to act, and take brutal on revenge on those who've stolen his life...

London Boulevard

Marita McKenna

Molly’s perfect life comes crashing down following the unexpected death of her husband David. She is left alone with a big old house to maintain, finances in disarray and her hopes for happiness in a heap. But Molly is a survivor. Despite objections from her two daughters, Molly fears that the only solution will be to sell their beloved home. But as she finds herself drawn to the old neglected and overgrown walled rose garden and the dilapidated gardener’s cottage attached, shesuddenly sees a future as shedecides to restore them. 
 
As the rose garden takes on a new life and starts to bloom again, Molly finds that she can look to the future with new confidence and hope.

The Rose Garden

Marita Conlon-McKenna

Liz Lyons

One wet and stormy Irish summer, the three Miller sisters gather at their grand but shabby old family home, Tobar Lodge. 
 
Gina, middle sister and mum to a troubled teenage girl, is doing her best to keep the old country house afloat by playing host to summer visitors who rent converted cottages on the land. 
 
Eldest, Lottie, is home to lick her wounds after her latest romantic adventure has ended in disaster once again. 
 
Rachel, the youngest, has led a more charmed life but this time is coming home accompanied by a family struggling after the collapse of her husband's business. 
 
As family and strangers meet and collide, and a long hidden secret is exposed, they begin to discover that love and life is all about losing, yearning for and ultimately finding a place called home. By the time the holiday season draws to a close, all will realise that complications of past lives simmer just beneath the surface, a rich layer of secrets concealed from the eyes of others but keenly felt in the hearts of those to whom they belong.

Come This Way Home

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER, SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2016 IRISH BOOK AWARDS 
 
With the threat of the First World War looming, tension simmers under the surface of Ireland. 
 
Bright, beautiful and intelligent, the Gifford sisters Grace, Muriel and Nellie kick against the conventions of their privileged, wealthy Anglo-Irish background and their mother Isabella’s expectations. 
 
As War erupts across Europe, the spirited sisters soon find themselves caught up in Ireland’s struggle for freedom. 
 
Muriel falls deeply in love with writer Thomas MacDonagh, artist Grace meets the enigmatic Joe Plunkett – both leaders of ‘The Rising’ – while Nellie joins ‘The Citizen Army’ and takes up arms to fight alongside Countess Markievicz in the rebellion. 
 
On Easter Monday 1916, the Rising begins, and the world of the Gifford sisters and everyone they hold dear is torn apart in a fight that is destined for tragedy. 
 
‘Engrossing’ Irish Sunday Times 
 
'Marvellous ... A gripping read' Irish Independent 
 
‘Finally, women are being written back into the history of [Ireland's] awakening’ Irish Mail on Sunday

Rebel Sisters

The epic and heartbreaking story of three extraordinary women fighting for Ireland’s freedom

Two guards; one nun; one judge. 
 
When a letter containing a list of victims arrives in the post, PI Jack Taylor is sickened, but tells himself the list has nothing to do with him. He has enough to do just staying sane. His close friend Ridge is recovering from surgery, and alcohol's siren song is calling to him ever more insistently. 
 
A guard and then a judge die in mysterious circumstances. But it is not until a child is added to the list that Taylor determines to find the identity of the killer, and stop them at any cost. 
 
What he doesn't know is that his relationship with the killer is far closer than he thinks. And that it's about to become deeply personal. 
 
Spiked with dark humour, seasoned with acute insights about the perils of urbanisation, and fuelled by rage at man's inhumanity to man, this is crime-writing at its darkest and most original.

Sanctuary

Niamh O'Connor

A hitman 
DI Gavin Sexton is looking into a spate of teenage suicides when he encounters a young girl, paralyzed with locked-in syndrome. Unable to communicate in any other way, she blinks the words: ‘I hired a hitman’. 
Was it suicide? 
Recovering from loss of sight, Sexton’s old partner DI Jo Birmingham is keeping her promise to investigate the apparent suicide of Sexton’s own wife, Maura. But why does he no longer seem to care? 
Secrets thrive on stigma 
Sexton believes the girl who cannot move has suffered enough. But how far should he go to protect her? And what if Jo discovers an uncomfortable truth? 
Blink will grab you from the first page, and won’t let go.

Blink

A beautiful woman 
Model and it-girl Tara Parker Trench is famous across Ireland - with her beauty, glittering lifestyle and perfectthree-year-old son Presley, she seems to have it all. 
 
A stolen child 
Until, one cold wet Dublin night, Tara pulls into a service station for petrol, leaving Presley strapped into the back of her car. Five minutes later he's gone, kidnapped while his mother's back was turned. 
 
A hidden world 
Tara, terrified and hysterical, begs DI Jo Birmingham to help her find her child. But why doesn't Tara want the public to know he's missing? Soon, Jo is drawn into a dark underworld of corruption and extortion, where sex is a commodity, and life is cheap. Who is really telling Jo the truth about the missing little boy- and who's got too much to hide? 
 
A gripping crime novel, with an unforgettable heroine - welcome to the dark side of Dublin's Fair City

Taken

Two women living a hundred years apart. One home that binds them together. 
 
When Edie Chadwick travels to Ireland to close up her uncle’s lakeside lodge, it’s as much to escape the burden of guilt she’s carrying as to break loose from the smart set of 1930’s London. 
 
The old house is full of memories – not just her own, but those of a woman whose story has been left to gather dust in a chest in the attic: a handwritten memoir inscribed with an elegant signature . . . Eliza Drury 
 
As she turns the pages of the manuscript, Edie uncovers secrets she could never have imagined: an exciting tale of ambition, hardship, love and tragedy – a story that has waited a lifetime to be told. . . 
 
'A delightful story, rich, engrossing and vividly told' Rachel Hore 
 
‘A compelling, atmospheric story brimming with period detail about two feisty, independent heroines who will steal your heart’ Cathy Kelly 
 
'With a marvellously evocative setting, strong and believable lead characters and a pacey plot, Another Heartbeat in the House is a thoroughly compelling love story' Liz Trenow

Another Heartbeat in the House

Anita Notaro

Be careful what you wish for... 
 
Antonia has always put everyone else before herself. Shy and quiet, her life in a small village in Wicklow has been devoted to her invalid mother and singing in the local church choir. Somehow, it's easier that way. 
 
But when she is left alone her friends encourage her to audition for a television talent show. Blessed with a glorious singing voice, she is suddenly thrust into the limelight and enters the world of celebrity and glamour. She's the Girl from Nowhere, but can she cope with this startling new life? Antonia discovers that this business is tougher than she ever thought possible, but also that she's stronger than she thought she was. And she finds that help can come from the most unexpected places...

A Moment Like This

The No.1 bestselling novel of the Great Irish Famine from one of Ireland's most beloved writers 
 
Ireland's hopes for freedom are dashed with the arrival of a deadly potato blight that strikes terror in the heart of its people. 
 
1845. Seamstress Mary Sullivan's dreams of a better future are shattered as she looks out over their ruined crop. Refusing to give in to despair, she must use every ounce of courage and strength to protect her family as they fight to survive. 
 
Dr Dan Donovan is Medical Officer to the Skibbereen Union. The arrival of 'The Hunger' soon brings starving men, women and children crowding into the town and the workhouse, desperate for assistance. 
 
Fr John Fitzpatrick's faith is tested by the suffering that surrounds him as his pleas for help fall on deaf ears. 
 
Inspired by true Irish heroes, The Hungry Road is the heartbreaking story of the Great Irish Famine told by one of Ireland's best loved writers. 
 
__________ 
 
'Compelling ... An essential book' Sunday Times 
 
'Heartbreaking and powerful' Her.ie 
 
'Gripping' Business Post 
 
'Captivating' Sunday Independent 
 
'Powerful ... illustrate[s] the enormity of the tragedy' Irish Independent

The Hungry Road

The gripping and heartbreaking novel of the Great Irish Famine

Maggie Ryan can't help it! She constantly finds herself organizing and meddling in the lives of others, trying to match things and people together, from her neighbours in Dublin's Pleasant Square to her own family. With three bright, beautiful daughters who are still single Maggie decides that a little romantic matching is needed. 
 
However matchmaking is not as easy as it seems and Maggie's quest to find the perfect partner for each of her reluctant daughters is proving difficult. 
 
Her architect daughter Grace has had enough of heartbreak and given up on men deciding instead to concentrate on her career. Poetry obsessed Anna believes that no man can ever live up to her hero W.B.Yeats. While single-parent Sarah devotes so much time to her little girl Evie that romance constantly passes her by. 
 
Determined to get 'rings on those fingers' Maggie Ryan believes that the arrival of bachelor Mark McGuinness, who has just purchased a house on 'The Square', is an opportunity far too good to be missed!

The Matchmaker

Aidan Storey

Growing up in the suburbs of Dublin, Aidan Storey was the youngest of seven, a much-loved, happy child who enjoyed family life and all the usual rough-and-tumble games he played with friends in his garden. The only difference was, when the friends left and the garden was quiet, Aidan was visited by Angels. Unafraid of the beautiful, luminous spirits who watched over him,it wasn't until much later that Aidan realized not everyone could see what he could see - and not everyone shared what was to prove to be an exceptional gift for healing. 
 
In this extraordinary autobiography, Aidan vividly recalls how the presence of angels sustained him through years of great turmoil - years when his happy, carefree world turned into one of misery and torment. As he recalls the sexual and mental abuse he suffered at the hands of two teachers in his Christian Brothers primary school, and the desperate, dark days of depression and isolation which followed, he tells of how the Angels helped him to claw his way back to life and, through the power of angelic healing, taught him how to bring light and love into his life and the lives of many others. 
 
Profoundly moving - and with a range of questions about issues such as death, relationships, the state of the planet, and many more, all answered by the Angels - this is an inspiring story of hope and forgiveness, and a testament to the healing power of Angels that will stay with you for ever.

Angels of Divine Light

What would it take to destroy your closest friendship? 
 
Alison and Ciara meet at college in Dublin and soon become firm allies, sharing a flat and facing the world together. Ciara is all that Alison aspires to be - sassy, confident and fearless. Although their backgrounds could not be more different, they find solace and humour in each other's company. 
 
That is until gorgeous Dan Abernethy, a young medical student, enters their lives, and everything changes irrevocably. Love turns Alison's world upside down and a terrible betrayal threatens everything she holds dear. It is only when tragedy strikes many years later that Alison and Ciara are offered a chance at redemption.

Barefoot Over Stones

America - the land of opportunity, a place where economic prosperity beckons: - but not for PI Jack Taylor, who's just been refused entry. 
 
Jack resumes his old life in Galway. But when he's called to investigate the frenzied murder of a student, he remembers an encounter with an over-friendly stranger in the airport bar. A stranger who seemed to know rather more than he should about Jack. 
 
After several more murders and too many encounters to be coincidental, Jack believes he may have met his nemesis. 
 
But why has he been chosen? And could he really be dealing with the Devil himself?

The Devil

What if your dream was against all odds? 
 
Liz O’Brien doesn’t want to fall in love. All she has ever wanted is to be a professional show-jumper and now it’s within her grasp. She’ll do anything to succeed . . . even if that means keeping secrets from those around her. 
 
Matt has no intention of falling in love, either. He has never known a thrill like show-jumping. Intense, exhilarating and fast-paced – for Matt, nothing beats the rush that comes with a win. 
 
But then Matt and Liz are thrown together as rivals, and as desire begins to take over, tension grows between them. Both must fight against all odds for their dreams – and for each other.

One Chance

John O'Donohue

In this powerful, evocative collection, master storyteller John O'Donohue explores themes of love and loss, beginnings and endings. Inspired by the ancient wisdom of the Celtic tradition and the rugged, majestic landscape of his birth, the west of Ireland, here he also creates a unique vision of a place and time, and the echo of a memory that will never fade.

Echoes of Memory

Amanda Brunker

Eva Valentine is back and Trouble is still her middle name! 
 
After surviving a near-death experience, Eva marries the man who nursed her back to health. Living it up in style on their honeymoon she discovers she is already three months pregnant. 
 
When little Daisy is born life is far from perfect and soon Eva is struggling with marriage to a man she hardly knows. 
 
Thankfully, her best friends drag her away for weekends of fun and lust, and with all the forbidden sex on offer, she no longer feels like a desperate housewife. 
 
But it's anyone's guess whose bed she'll end up in next...

Champagne Babes

Warm, charming and laugh-out-loud funny… Ann Devine, Ready For Her Close-Up is a little ray of sunshine, sure to delight' Irish Independent 
 
 
Meet Ann Devine, a riddle, wrapped up in a fleece, inside a Skoda Octavia. 
 
Now that her youngest has flown the nest, Ann finds herself at a loose end. Until, that is, she is put forward for the Kilsudgeon Tidy Towns Committee. 
 
Yet all is not neat and tidy in Kilsudgeon. There are strange sightings of people who aren't local driving 4x4s with a yellow reg, a man bun requesting kefir in the restaurant and a quad bike at a funeral. 
 
What does this have to do with rumours of a brand new television series to rival Game of Thrones? And what will it all mean for Kilsudgeon's newly proposed town park? 
 
A lot, as it happens. 
 
As the town begins to fill up with the film crew, extras and a Hollywood star who is fond of the drink, everyone welcomes the chance to make a few bob and to finally get enough broadband to send an attachment. 
 
Or nearly everyone. Harmony is threatened when the newcomers seem to be doing more damage than good and the last straw is when Ann’s pride and joy - a floral arrangement in a boat - is trashed. She’s about to discover what it means to go viral…

Ann Devine, Ready for Her Close-Up

Sister Stanislaus Kennedy

Sister Stanislaus Kennedy, or Sister Stan as she is affectionately known, has been described as a visionary and social innovator. Now, in The Road Home she looks back on her life - from her early years growing up on the family farm in the Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry, to the day when, at the age of eighteen, she made the life-changing decision to become a nun. Inspired by the work of Mother Mary Aikenhead, who founded the Sisters of Charity in 1815, Stan went on to dedicate her life to the service of the poor and to fighting for a fairer, more equal society. 
 
Here, as she reflects on the many challenges she has met, both personal and political, she recalls how she was also inspired by her mentor, Bishop Peter Birch and how, under his guidance she helped to set up an innovative model of community care in Kilkenny - a model that was to become a blueprint for the rest of Ireland. 
 
Over the years Stan also developed into a formidable campaigner and worked tirelessly - sometimes against severe opposition - to establish other immensely influential human rights and social justice agencies, includingFocus Ireland, now the biggest national voluntary organisation for the homeless, Young Social Innovators, a national social justice education programme for young people, and The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI), which supports the rights of migrants and their families and is a catalyst for public debate. In 2000, Stan also founded The Sanctuary - a meditation and spirituality centre in Dublin where, amidst the bustle of city life, people can experience peace, quiet, and the space to explore and develop their inner world. 
 
Inspiring and thought-provoking, this fascinating memoir provides a unique insight into the life and work of one of the most influential social activists of our day, the many political battles she has fought and won, and how, with dogged determination and courage, she has shaped the lives and the fortunes of thousands of people. Quite simply, The Road Home is the remarkable story of a remarkable woman.

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