jackbyrnewriter
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A Day in the life…40 years from home.
Two songs a world apart, or are they? “He blew his mind out in a car.” The Beatles song A Day in The Life references the death of Tara Browne an Irish socialite, heir to the Guinness fortune, who had a house in Luggalo, County Wicklow and died in England in a car crash in… Continue reading
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The Blue Union
Many from Garston will remember the blue union as a social club on Window Lane and a football team that played in the Sunday league, a team that was the starting point for some famous names like Jimmy Case. For decades it played a role in the social life of people Under The Bridge. It… Continue reading
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Humanity Restored
Robert Burns poem called Man was made to mourn: A Dirge in 1784. ‘Man’s inhumanity to man’ The response to the murder of George Floyd for most people has been an overwhelming rejection of the racism that ended his life. The casual denial of his humanity, and as police knelt on his neck it brought back all the… Continue reading
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Speke Hall- A Scary Future?
Speke Hall was a place of adventure and escape for kids from the Speke estate, encapsulating the split personality of Speke, on one side the factories, Fords, Standard Triumph, Evans Medical, Metal Box, and Dunlops. On the other side the river, farmers fields and the distinctly rural feel of Hale village, a weird combination that… Continue reading
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Match and Bobbin girls
The Mersey Matchworks, was a scene of architectural progress and innovation, while being witness to the ruthless treatment of the women and girls of the Garston Bobbin works. Bryant & May had a reasonably good reputation in Liverpool, mainly because the industry had moved on by the time the Garston factory was built. Mechanisation and… Continue reading
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The longest journey starts with a single step
This is an interview with Chat and Spin radio on the 28th May 2020 broadcasting from Tyne and Wear in the UK over the internet to half a million listeners internationally. Continue reading
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From Wicklow to The Liverpool Mysteries
I like the new cover designs above, they are simpler, starker, and grittier just like the books. They highlight the mystery nature of the novels. Creating an atmosphere of tension in the cover is no easy thing to do, so I am pleased. (Thanks to Leila ) There is one image missing, I haven’t started… Continue reading
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The world is burning…and Liverpool are on fire.
Below is the first chapter of the book I am currently working on, while trying to edit the last one, and query the first one with agents and publishers- Anyway I hope you enjoy this sneak preview – Chapter One The World is Burning January 7th 2020 Liverpool UK. A voice rang out over the… Continue reading
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Reading Catherine Cookson- The making of a Scouse militant.
The question ‘What made you a socialist?’ Was recently discussed on his Facebook page by a political activist and writer who was active in Liverpool. I was in and out of Liverpool, Sheffield, Oxford and Nottingham in fact wherever the IMG or its successors wanted people to move, there I would be..But back to the… Continue reading
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Above us only sky
Paul arriving back at Liverpool Airport, just a couple of miles down the road was one of Paul’s favourite spots as a child, Oggy shore. Anyone who grew up in Speke, Liverpool knew it as a place to escape from the streets. Above is the 1930s art deco building I remember. As kids, we would… Continue reading
About Me
Thanks for visiting my page. The aim of this page is to let you know what I am working on and allow you to tell me what you think.
I was born and raised in Speke Liverpool, although my parents first lived ‘Under The Bridge’ in Garston, and all my family goes back to Wicklow in Ireland.
The Liverpool Mystery series will be four novels, three books; Under The Bridge, The Morning After, and Fire Next Time are finished. Under The Bridge will be published in Feb 2021 and I hope at least one more will follow later in the year. I am writing The Wicklow Boys now, and I hope to finish it next year.
My writing like my blog is about the lives of working people and how they relate to society as a whole.
My collection of short stories The One Road is available below click to see details.
Jack Byrne 