Press kit

For editors, festival organisers, booksellers, and journalists. Use any of the text below as written. For interviews, readings, or review copies, use the contact page.

Short bio (50 words)

Ruairí de Barra is an Irish writer and poet based in Cobh, County Cork. He served 25 years with the Irish Naval Service, retiring as a Senior Chief Petty Officer, and is now Regional Technical Lead for the RNLI in Ireland. His debut thriller, Migrant: A Libyan Storm, is complete.

Long bio (about 200 words)

Ruairí de Barra is an Irish writer, poet, and defence and security contributor. A Mayoman who has lived in Cork for almost three decades, he served 25 years with the Irish Naval Service, retiring as a Senior Chief Petty Officer, including the humanitarian rescue mission Operation PONTUS in the southern Mediterranean in 2015 and the European naval mission Operation SOPHIA in 2018. He is now Regional Technical Lead for the RNLI in Ireland.

As an accredited Irish Defence Forces military journalist, he is a regular contributor to An Cosantóir. In 2017 he was the inaugural winner of the An Cosantóir Gen MJ Costello Award, and he has twice been nominated for the European Military Press Association Awards. His poetry has appeared in Tinteán, A New Ulster, Live Encounters, Bangor Literary Journal, Black Bough Poetry, The Boston Globe, and Poetry Jukebox, among others.

His first thriller, Migrant: A Libyan Storm, Book I of the Storm Series, is a military and geopolitical thriller set between Lagos, Libya, and the Mediterranean. He also writes fantasy and science fiction as Karol Barry. He holds a BA in Leadership, Management, and Naval Studies from CIT and a Master of Commerce in Government and Public Policy from UCC.

At a glance

Based in	Cobh, County Cork, Ireland
Writes	Military thrillers, poetry, and defence and maritime journalism
Service	25 years, Irish Naval Service; retired Senior Chief Petty Officer. Chief of the Engineering Department on the Irish naval flagship LÉ Eithne (2015) and on LÉ Samuel Beckett (2018).
Now	Regional Technical Lead, RNLI Ireland
Award	An Cosantóir Gen MJ Costello Award (inaugural winner, 2017)
Nominations	European Military Press Association Awards, 2017 and 2018
Membership	Military Writers Guild
Online	paperneverrefusedink.com · Bluesky @paperneverrefusedink.com

Books in progress

Migrant: A Libyan Storm (The Storm Series, Book I): manuscript complete.

Selected journalism

Rebuilding Somalia: The Sea is Their Future (An Cosantóir; EMPA nominee 2017)
Shipshape and Ready for Action (An Cosantóir; EMPA nominee 2018)
Academic chapters and papers: see Academic Publications

Photos

Click a photo to open the full-size file. Photos 1 to 3 are 4800 × 6000 pixels, suitable for print; photo 4 is for screen use. Photo 1 is the main author photo.