Writing a novel can feel like a slog through mud and mire. Advice from General Melchett on pig-headed persistence, and a nod to the allies who keep me going over the top.
If you are a writer of just about any kind, you should join a union. The Irish Writers Union is the main advocacy body for Irish writers, open to members wherever they are based.
The RNLI has released Float, a short film made with the GAA to teach young people the Float to Live message. Please watch and share it: knowing what to do in the water could save a life.
You used to arrive in only twos, / Now you're ones, I've gotten the blues, / Black and white your smart tuxedo, / Yet never five have arrived alive, / As for six, I'll pick up sticks…
A short comic verse from the 2026 Six Nations, as Irish rugby supporters face the unthinkable prospect of cheering on the ancient enemy, and wonder what that laurel wreath is really worth.
Christmas greetings from my first Christmas as Regional Technical Lead for the RNLI in Ireland, with thanks to everyone whose support and donations keep our lifeboats ready to save lives around the coast.
Damien Larkin's Motherland Climax blends alternative history, spy thriller and science fiction with brutal satirical wit. A review of a book that skewers demagogues and personality cults.
“Writing in the same room as a modern refrigerator is like sitting in the cinema next to a perpetual grazer; hum, fizz, plop, fart.”
“I sat gazing toward Inis Déach, in silence amid the pebbles at the end of Bertra Beach, witness to a rainbow beneath the rushing tide; a Sea Wolf twists under the summer sun.”
“John and Mary O’Leary reside at No. 1 Cherry Tree Gardens. They have three chicks.”
“The column clawed its escape skyward, a pale tendril spiralling into space, while the valley held its breath for a secret launch.”
“They must become more flotsam in a river of souls, moving inexorably toward an uncertain future.”
“Here in the land of plenty, the well of dignity is empty: good enough to fight the wars and pick the fruit, but not to stay.”
“The secrets of field and stream; of the small, wild things are best known by the child of spring and most useful to adult of autumn who has forgotten them.”
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