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Colm O'Regan

Christmas – a time for peace, joy and Mammies. 
 
 While others are focusing on Santa/Santy, the school nativity play, the office party and its wild cousin the Twelve Pubs, panicked present shopping and the delicate diplomacy of in-law visiting, the Irish Mammy is mobilized in her war-room – ready for the campaign. Electric blankets have been set to maximum power; cards have been despatched; the turkey has been ordered; the decorations have been retrieved from the Place Where The Decorations Go and the fifth Big Shop (to get breadcrumbs) has been completed. 
 
 There are homecomings from near and far, new arrivals, drama, bustle, tears and laughter, and Mammy at the heart of it all, directing operations. 
 
 There’s bound to be something she’s forgotten – but luckily, just like a certain someone, she’s made a list.

It's Earlier 'Tis Getting: The Christmas Book of Irish Mammies

Ken Bruen

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

Conor O'Clery

History always comes down to the details. And when it comes to the fall of the Soviet Union, the details are crucial, especially when such an era-defining event hinged on the bitter personal relationship between two powerful men, Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin. 
 
On the twentieth anniversary of the end of the Cold War, Conor O'Clery has built his compelling and brilliantly constructed narrative of the fall of the Soviet Union around one day, December 25, 1991, the date Gorbachev resigned and the USSR was effectively consigned to history. From there, O'Clery looks back over the events of the previous six years: Gorbachev's reform policies of glasnost and perestroika; Yeltsin's ignominious fall and then rise to the top; the defiance of the once docile Soviet republics; the failed August coup by the hardliners; and the events that swiftly followed until a secret meeting in a central European forest sealed the fate of the communist monolith and the clock ticked down to the last day. 
 
The result is an intricately detailed, thoroughly researched book, based on interviews with many of the key figures in a drama of Shakespearean intensity as well as contemporary reportage, the memoirs and diaries of key political figures and official documents. The book is written at a breathtaking, dramatic pace, drawing the reader in as it focuses equally on the personal and historical stories. 
 
Moscow, December 25, 1991 is set to become a defining book on the fall of the Soviet Union.

Moscow, December 25, 1991

The Last Day Of The Soviet Union

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

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

Marita Conlon-McKenna

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

Sister Stanislaus Kennedy

Sister Stan's new book, Day By Day offers words of wisdom that will inspire and comfort you on your journey through life. Thoughtful and reflective, it draws upon some of the most enlightened figures from both the past and the present as it gently guides you through your day. 
 
Also included here are thought-provoking contributions on a range of subjects, including gratitude, belonging, friendship, courage and daring, from influential figures such as Abbott Mark Patrick Hederman, leading psychologist and founder of Headstrong, Dr Tony Bates, poet Brendan Kennelly, and producer/director Lelia Doolan – each helping Sister Stan to create an invaluable treasury for our times.

Day By Day

In her long-awaited book, Sister Stan draws upon her memories of childhood and the special moments of awareness and mystery which have nourished and enriched her life. 
 
As she offers simple reflections to help us focus on the many gifts and blessings that surround us each day, she helps us to connect to our inner world, and the deep, nurturing silence that lies within.

Moments of Stillness

Based on the traditional Book of Hours - psalms said daily, at set times, by religious communities throughout the world - Seasons of the Day reveals the enduring relevance of this ancient practice 
to contemporary living. 
 
In Seasons of the Day, Sister Stan, knowing that our modern-day understanding of time pushes us to our stressed-out limits, passes on the monastic ritual to the layperson. 
 
Here, as she slows us down, she reveals the psalms through her own words, her own prayers. Using them, she also guides us tenderly through a four-week period, from the silence and mystery of pre-dawn (matins) through to the reflective conclusion of the day (compline). 
 
In a world that can often seem hostile and unfriendly, her gentle reflections help the reader find inner peace and confidence. 
 
A prayer book for today

Seasons of the Day

Liz Lyons

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

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

Stephen Ferris

SHORTLISTED FOR RUGBY BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 
 
'When I came into the Ulster team,' Stephen Ferris says with typical candour, 'we were crap'. It was, however, preferable to his day job of paving driveways, and that day in 2005 saw the start of an incredible journey for Ferris, Ulster and Ireland rugby. A Celtic League title in his very first senior season with Ulster. A Grand Slam in 2009, followed by a sensational Lions breakthrough. A starring role in Ireland's greatest World Cup win, over Australia in 2011, when Ferris famously picked up Will Genia and carried him ten yards. And leading Ulster from nowhere to the Heineken Cup final. 
 
Stephen Ferris had an incredible rugby career, tragically ended by ankle injuries so severe they will never properly heal. He is an inspiration to the population of Ulster, an emblem of the sport that serves as such a positive expression of its culture and identity, and earned the respect and admiration of fans across Ireland for his strength, pace, skill and courage. Fearless, funny and full of an incredible array of stories from behind the scenes of Ulster, Ireland and the Lions, this is the must-have rugby book of the year.

Man and Ball

My Autobiography

Emily Gillmor Murphy

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

Some people help the less fortunate. Others kill them. 
 
Evil has many guises. Jack Taylor has encountered most of them but nothing before has ever truly terrified him until a group called Headstone rears its ugly head. An elderly priest is viciously beaten until nearly dead. A special needs boy is brutally attacked. A series of seemingly random, insane, violent events even has the Guards shaken. 
 
Most would see a headstone as a marker of the dead, but this coterie of evil intends to act as a death knell to every aspect of Jack's life as an act of appalling violence alerts him to the horror enveloping Galway. 
 
Accepting the power of Headstone, Jack realizes that in order to fight back he must relinquish the remaining shreds of what has made him human - knowledge that may have come too late to prevent an act of such ferocious evil that the whole country would be changed forever - and in the worst way. 
 
With awful clarity, Jack knows that not only might he be powerless to stop it but that he may not have the grit needed to even face it.

Headstone

Peter Tyrrell

Diarmuid Whelan

I warn society against the child who has been hurt 
Peter Tyrrell 
 
A tormented childhood in Letterfrack industrial school with the Christian Brothers left an enduring mark on Peter Tyrrell. Ignored by the authorities and distressed by his memories, he later burned himself to death on Hampstead Heath in London. His story of horrific abuse is told with childlike simplicity, penned in a series of letters to Senator Owen Sheehy Skeffington. Bringing to life, with touching sincerity, a shocking reality where beatings of children as young as five were commonplace, this startling account may have gone unpublished if not for its chance discovery amongst Skeffington's papers. At last, Peter Tyrrell has been given a voice. 
 
Tyrrell never recovered from the abuse that he suffered, yet was determined that his story should be heard. His memoir makes for harrowing yet extraordinarily compelling reading. It is impossible not to be touched.

Founded on Fear

Kate Cassidy is about to celebrate twenty five years of marriage to Paddy. But the secret she has kept all this time is about to be discovered. 
 
Erin Harris has always known that she is different from the rest of her family. Over the years she has begun to put the pieces together and now she has to discover who she really is and where she comes from. 
 
Nina Harris has always put her marriage and family before everything. But now she must face up to the truth as her daughter is prepared to run off and search for a woman she doesn't know. 
 
There is no escaping the past. Kate, Erin and Nina all have to come to terms with what happened so many years before, and to find their own way of dealing with it.

Three Women

Albert Reynolds

Albert Reynolds has led an extraordinary life. Now, for the first time, Ireland's eighth Taoiseach tells his life story - from his childhood and first steps as a young businessman to his action-filled years in the political arena. 
 
In this revelatory autobiography, Albert tells how his dynamic, can-do approach allowed a boy from the village of Roosky, Co. Roscommon, to build a ballroom empire with his brother Jim, to found a multi-million-pound company and to make a profound and lasting contribution to Irish politics. 
 
Albert relives a busy political life, and the Northern Ireland peace process is thrown into dramatic relief with original contributions from other voices such as John Major, Bill Clinton, Martin McGuinness and Archbishop Eames, with eye-opening revelations about secret, behind-the-scenes meetings with key players. 
 
'Give it as it was; tell it as it is, that is me.' In his autobiography, he does just that.

Albert Reynolds: My Autobiography

Anita Notaro

Most of us can remember a defining moment in our lives. A split second when time stood still and our lives changed forever. For Lily Ormond, that moment came late one night when she answered a knock on the door and discovered that while she'd been smashing garlic and rosemary and watching the soaps, her sister Alison had drowned. 
 
Coming to terms with losing her only sibling and best friend was devastating, becoming a mother overnight to Ali's three-year-old son Charlie was mind-boggling, but discovering that her identical twin had been leading a secret life for years was almost Lily's undoing... 
 
And so begins a journey linked with four men who'd been part of a life she hadn't even known existed. A journey that forces Lily to come to terms with a father who'd never really cared for her, a child who needs her too much and a sister who wasn't what she seemed.

Take A Look At Me Now

Amanda Hearty

Beth Prendergast has fallen hook, line and sinker for her boss. But when Beth discovers she is pregnant he makes it clear that a baby was never part of his plan. Is Beth really ready to take on motherhood all on her own? 
 
Grace Miller's life changed when fell in love with Ethan. A house in sunny San Diego is a far cry from where she grew up in North Dublin. But when Ethan's firm offers a transfer to Ireland, Grace is unsure about moving back home. 
 
Erin Delaney has the perfect marriage, but still yearns for one thing - a child. Her husband John reassures her that this will happen in good time but Erin's obsession is getting worse and soon puts a strain on their relationship. 
 
As Beth, Grace and Erin all face big choices and changes of the heart, they soon realize their lives will never be the same again.

Positively Yours

Like any great diva, Eva Valentine is a flawed character. Spoilt, stubborn and sassy, she exudes lioness confidence when in the company of her fellow bitches Maddie and Parker, and hungers for sex like others desire chocolate. 
 
Eva is a woman who would kiss your girlfriend as quick as she'd steal your husband, but underneath this hard-nosed facade she's just a regular girl who craves normality, and a love that she can call her own. 
 
After CCTV images of a clumsy clinch with her very married boss make headlines in the Sunday papers, her whole world begins to crumble. Eva must come to terms with the harsh consequences of her reckless actions, but don't think for a second that this would ever stop her fun. In Europe's most expensive capital, beautiful people can always find rich friends to fly them to fabulous parties in London or glamorous holidays in Marbella.

Champagne Kisses

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

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.

The Road Home

My Journey

John O'Donohue

In The Four Elements, poet and philosopher John O'Donohue draws upon his Celtic heritage and the love of his native landscape, the west of Ireland, to weave together a tapestry of beautifully evoked images of nature. As John explores a range of themes relating to the way we live our lives today, he reveals how the energy and rhythm of the natural world - its innocence and creativity, its power and splendour - hold profound lessons for us all. 
 
With a foreword written by his beloved brother Pat, this illuminating treasury is a unique collection of reflections inspired by the ancient wisdom of this earth.

The Four Elements

Reflections on Nature

Cora Staunton

Cora Staunton is an iconic figure in the world of modern GAA. In this ground-breaking autobiography, she reveals her extraordinary journey from teenage rookie to the highest-scoring forward in the history of Ladies Gaelic Football. Since making her senior inter-county debut for Mayo at just thirteen years of age, Cora has become a feared and respected opponent on any pitch. 
 
Now, for the first time, she recounts the triumphs of her career and the personal struggles that have plagued it. In this refreshingly candid book, Cora recalls finding refuge in the game after the death of her mother, but also speaks openly about the challenges and conflicts she and her teammates have experienced in the under-resourced world of female sport. She gives a fascinating insight into her move to a professional team in Sydney and how she coped with going from a veteran to a newcomer overnight. 
 
In the first-ever autobiography of a female GAA star, Game Changer will take its place as one of the most influential and powerful sports books in recent years.

Game Changer

Donncha O'Callaghan

Donncha O'Callaghan is one of Ireland's leading international rugby players, and a stalwart of the Munster side. He was a key figure in the Irish team which won the IRB 6 Nations Grand Slam in 2009, and has won two Heineken Cup medals and two Magners League titles with Munster. 
 
But that success did not come easy. For such a well known player with a larger-than-life reputation, his long battle to make a breakthrough at the highest level is largely unknown. In this honest and revealing autobiography, Donncha talks in detail about the personal setbacks and disappointments at Munster and the unconventional ways he dealt with the frustration of not making the team for four of five years in his early 20s. 
 
He had a parallel experience with Ireland where it took him nearly six years to get from fringe squad member to established first choice player. Here he talks candidly about how he brought discipline to his game, and about his relationships with the coaches who had overlooked him and the second row rivals who had kept him on the bench. 
 
Donncha talks also with great warmth about a hectic childhood that was shaped by the death of his father when he was only six years old. One of the heroes of his story is his mother Marie who showed incredible strength and resourcefulness to rear a family of five on her own. 
 
Often deservedly regarded as 'the joker in the pack', what is often less well known is the serious attitude and intensely professional approach Donncha brings to his rugby. Joking Apart gives the full picture, showing sides of the man that will be unfamiliar to followers of Irish rugby and will surprise the reader.

Joking Apart

Mary Black

For the last thirty years, singer Mary Black has been a dominant presence on the Irish music scene, an award-winning artist with many bestselling albums to her name. Now, in this long-awaited memoir, Mary takes us back to the roots of her musical heritage and to the influences that helped to shape her as an artist and a woman. 
 Born into a musical family, Mary Black – a feisty tomboy who could hold her own when it came to sparring with her brothers and anyone else brave enough to take her on – began singing folk songs from the age of ten. Music played an important role in the family home and, performing with her brothers and her sister Frances, Mary built her highly successful career on the bedrock of these early years. 
 From the pubs and clubs of her hometown, Dublin, she went on to perform in some of the most prestigious venues across the world. Always committed to exploring new material from the best writers, her unique talent attracted acclaim from critics, fellow artists and the public alike. It also led to a host of bestselling albums, including the multi-platinum No Frontiers, which spent more than a year in the Irish Top 30. 
 Mary’s love of singing was matched only by the love she had for her family. As she recalls the inevitable tensions that arose when trying to juggle family life and a high-profile career, she tells of her struggle to combine the two contrasting aspects of her life. It was only through gritty determination, hard work and a fair amount of laughter that Mary was able to enjoy major success as an artist and, at the same time, raise a close and loving family with her husband Joe. 
 Refreshingly honest, and written with warmth and humour, Down the Crooked Road offers a unique insight into the life and career of one of our most gifted singers – an artist who, during the course of her long career, has captured the hearts of millions around the world.

Down the Crooked Road

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

Everyone knows that Amy and Dan are made for each other. So when they announce their engagement their families are over the moon, especially Amy's mother Helen. 
What could be more exciting than planning a daughter's wedding? 
 
But as the countdown to the Big Day begins, and mother and daughter throw themselves into creating the wedding of their dreams, not everyone's prepared for the commotion this involves. 
 
Bride-to-be Amy sees her best laid wedding plans start to unravel and things go from bad to worse, as Helen struggles to pick up the pieces and get her family back on track. 
Amy and Helen each discover what love and marriage is all about... but is it too late? 
 
It's not easy being a mother, let alone the Mother of the Bride!

Mother of the Bride

Ronan O'Gara

Ronan O'Gara has been at the heart of Munster and Irish rugby for the past fifteen years. Now, as he comes to the end of a glittering playing career, it is time for him to reflect on those many successes and occasional failures with the straight-talking attitude that has become his trademark. Never one to shy away from the truth, the result is Ronan O'Gara: Unguarded. 
 
Packed full of anecdotes and analysis of the teammates O'Gara has been proud to share the shirt with, and of the coaches he has played under - often in controversial circumstances - this is the definitive record of an era when Munster rose to triumph in Europe, and Ireland to win the Grand Slam, before crashing down to earth again. It is simply the must-have rugby book of the year.

Ronan O'Gara: Unguarded

Nicolas Roche

Nicolas Roche has a famous surname to all fans of cycling. The son of legendary Irish and World Champion Stephen Roche, Nicolas had to fight to make it as a professional and even harder to make his mark as his own man in this toughest of competitive sports. 
 
His rise up the ranks has been meteoric, with top 15 finishes in both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, but his attitude to his chosen profession has remained undimmed. Honest, eloquent and passionate about the cycling world, Nicolas gained acclaim and a devoted fan following for his Tour diaries serialised in the Irish Independent. 
 
Now a major contender for a podium finish in a grand tour, in the award-winning Inside the Peloton Nicolas tells in full the story of life as a professional cyclist and of the remarkable events that have brought him this far. From furious spats with teammates and exhilarating races against the world's best, this is a gripping cycling adventure and tale of a fiercely competitive sportsman.

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