One fine September morning 96 years ago, a small boy strolled across a bridge over a river leading into a town in rural Ireland. Suddenly, all hell broke loose around him as he was caught in the middle of one of the very first cross-fires between the Irish Volunteers and the British army. A few years earlier, while hiding under a table in his uncle’s pub, he had also observed Michael Collins (or rather his boots) during a secret meeting. Collins was, in all probability, recruiting for the Easter rising.

That boy was my father-in-law, Paddy Ryan. As a family therapist and Fellow of the British Psychological Society, I knew that all of us have secrets, and some of us have secret lives. Paddy certainly had both in a life both fascinating and typical of his generation, who experienced the war of independence, the great depression and world war two. I blended his story with other true stories into a novel that celebrates the lives of the children of Irish independence.

The ebook is available at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00QQTHBCY

The book has been described as ‘a masterpiece’ by Professor Alan Carr (University College, Dublin). The average public review score is 4.5 out of 5.