Writer and professionally qualified journalist. Author of The Soaring Spirit, Kolbe, The Briefcase Men, Wings, Digger, Land of Our Father, The Nationalists, The Scribe, War, Exile, Mano, Sorting out Charlie, Orphans, Pacific Deeps, and Manhunt and other works. Currently working on several books, including Die Bergtruppen, Mano's War, Veteran, and Sorting out Andy and also working on several short stories and novellas.
Favourite books over the years have included HMS Ulysses by Alistair McLean, The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, and recently the audio of that latter book. Growing up in Dublin, I used to read voraciously - the classics like Tom Brown's Schooldays, Ivanhoe and anything to do with Charles Dickens. In later life, I read further classics like the Thomas Hardy books, Edgar  Allen Poe and others. I read all the Enid Blytons, the Biggles stories, and even the Billy Bunters. Westerns also became a favourite, with notable books such as Shane, the works of JT Edson, Louis L'Amour, and Frederick H. Christian. Later, I became hooked on cop books set in New York - the 87th precincts by Ed McBain, Lawrence Sanders, Daley, Dan Mahoney and Christopher Newman.
Certain movies were a particular favourite too, especially from the 70s; Serpico, The Godfather trilogy, Marathon Man, The French Connection films, Bullitt and Jaws, to name but a few. Favourite westerns included Shane, Gunfight at the OK Corral, Lawman, and anything with John Wayne-more modern ones too, like 1883, Dances with Wolves, and Silverado.
Growing up, my favourite was Hawaii Five-0 starring Jack Lord, but I also enjoyed the new version. Films like Heat, The Insider, and All the President's Men also made a huge impact. Among the shows I liked were West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Wicked, and Les Misérables.
Hobbies include travelling, with Scotland becoming a new favourite destination. World Cup soccer trips, such as Italia '90 and Japan/Korea 2002.