- Jenny Farrell’s Review below published in Belfast Unity was also featured in The Morning Star in the UK, Socialist Voice in Ireland, and People’s World USA.
- A warning to the UK and Ireland.
- Who the hell is the ‘Red Detective?’
- From Heathcliff to Vinny ?
- A Contested City
- Burning Down The House – Early reviews
- Burning Down The House
- Liverpool and Slavery
- The Use of Migrant Blame in UK Politics
- Exploring Nationalism’s Limits in Modern Ireland
- Shanghai’d
- May Day or Loyalty Day?
- Irish Eyes – Special Offer
- The Black Christ?
- |St Patrick and the Irish
- Cries of pain
- A Chimney Fire and a Moron
- Derry and the Nature of Loss
- Hope is not the answer in 2024
- How do you determine your own identity when you’re born in England, but don’t identify with ‘Englishness’?
- The Mighty Shane and Sinéad Part 2
- The Mighty Shane and Sinéad
- Who tells our story?
- It’s a Small World Across The Water and Under The Bridge
- Blaming the ‘Far siders’
- Brexit – The End of Empire – Before the Storm
- Remembering the 34 people who lost their lives on this day 49 years ago in the Dublin/Monaghan bombings.
- Before the Storm
- A Sneak Preview of Before The Storm
- Talking of ‘The Troubles’ and Trauma
- Feedback Time
- The Best B&B in Ireland
- Before The Storm
- Amnesia or Erasure? The denial of justice
- We all have a Stake in this.
- Everything and Nothing
- Boooo!
- ‘Writing Across Borders’
- Why you should listen to The Irish Stew podcast.
- The One Road – Fiction For Fighting Back
- Confetti
- Celebrate St Patrick’s day with Liverpool writer Jack Byrne
- You kidding lad? Responding to The Responder
- Save Oglet Shore
- Where was Britain’s First Mosque?
- Vote for Under The Bridge ‘Book of The Year’
- One of The Untold Stories of how the Irish Built England
- A New Dawn. A New Day
- A Dickensian Xmas? Bah Humbug!
- Laughter and nibbles while people die alone.
- The Priest is coming!
- Giving Voice
- Being Irish- The Ghost In The Room
- Liverpool Irish Festival
- Far Foreign Land
- Talking books
- ‘The Wicklow Boys’ or ‘Across The Water’?
- The Lads of Garston
- Jack Byrne writer and international footballer?
- Crisis What Crisis
- New Edition- On Amazon now.
- A bone or a tibia?
- The Real Crimes
- British Justice- My Arse!
- A Love Letter to Liverpool?
- Radio Interview
- How we got here…
- Who we are
- Under The Bridge- Buy it now!
- 10 Questions With… Jack Byrne
- Humanity and Solidarity vs the ‘ Covid war profiteers’
- Buy now-sit back and relax
- A Fairytale in …
- It’s not about Corbyn or Bernie it’s about us.
- Dev’s Dream. Our Reality.
- All in a day’s work
- A rose in the river
- Risen
- The Black Christ
- United We Stand
- Speke Promenade. If only…
- Death by a Thousand Cuts
- So good they closed them down.
- Building Lives and Families Not Just Motorways
- Another Place
- Chickens coming home to roost.
- Norwegian Wood, and Rubber Dinghies (from Hindi dingi ‘small boat’ )
- The road to publication…is ‘class’ an issue?
- A Truly Irish and British Thriller
- The Ragged Arsed Philanthropists
- Another Crash?
- Readers Favorite Review 2
- Reds on top again?
- A Day in the life…40 years from home.
- The Blue Union
- Humanity Restored
- Speke Hall- A Scary Future?
- Match and Bobbin girls
- The longest journey starts with a single step
- From Wicklow to The Liverpool Mysteries
Murder, mystery, and intrigue are wrapped in historical fiction relevant to the struggles of working people. Set between Liverpool and Ireland these novels explore where we are today but also how we got here. The first book published was Under The Bridge in Feb 2021. Although set in Garston, that book had its roots in Wicklow, Ireland. Join the FB group for Under The Bridge here;
https://www.facebook.com/groups/522800758257136
Across The Water the second book was published in March 2022.
A warning to the UK and Ireland.
by Chris Armitage Aug 13, 2025 In 1933, German conservatives thought they could control Hitler. Two years later, they were being executed in their own homes. I spent weeks researching this question, desperately looking for counter-examples, for hope, for any time in history where people successfully stopped fascists after they started winning elections. Here’s what…
Who the hell is the ‘Red Detective?’
Photographed in a Liverpool shirt and given the title after the demise of a corrupt and murderous police officer, Charlie Connolly struggles with the name and the accidental career choice. In a talk with his partner Mina he asks; ‘I mean, how did we end up in the middle of this? Is it me…us, or…
From Heathcliff to Vinny ?
Abandoned children from Liverpool centuries apart yet connected through the immigrant’s story is how Dr Mary Burke, University of Connecticut, presented my first novel Under The Bridge as part of her course. I was delighted to assign Jack Byrne’s Under the Bridge to my spring 2024 British Literature survey course at the University of Connecticut. Jack very…
A Contested City
My first three books Under The Bridge, Across The Water, and Before The Storm, The Liverpool Mysteries deal with times from the 50s to 2010 in Garston and Speke. Before The Storm shows the rise of a Reform type Councillor in Speke, a nationalist with the constant refrain ‘Stop the boats.’ Whatever is wrong in…
Burning Down The House – Early reviews
Some early reviews Loved it. Unputdownable, five star read. Bloody Brilliant. Kind of feel sad that I read it so quick, but I couldn’t stop. Such a gripping, twisted read! Multi-layered brilliance! Exceptional! Natalie Freeman @Natfree37 I’ve just finished this book by Jack Byrne.It has everything. Set in Liverpool the novel tells a story of…
Burning Down The House
Click here to order Burning Down The House Liverpool 2020 Facing police violence and climate change, a cast of young characters find they need to change themselves before they can change the world. When climate activist, Matt Whitney dies in police custody, Charlie Connolly’s life is turned upside down after giving a witness statement. Embroiled…
Liverpool and Slavery
This website brings the city’s history to life, reminding us that the streets we walk were paved and made from the profits of slavery and the industries that relied on it. Check out the maps, join the walks, or share with friends. *text from Liverpool and slavery website Liverpool’s history is deeply intertwined with the…
The Use of Migrant Blame in UK Politics
The response to the killings of the young girls in Southport a few weeks ago, contained different elements, there were vigils and gatherings in sympathy with the families. The flowers and teddy bears left on pavements were a symbol of support for families and at the same time concern about the direction of a society…
Exploring Nationalism’s Limits in Modern Ireland
My letter below was published on 3rd October 2024 in response to a very good article by Maurice J Casey. In dealing with the rise of the far right in Ireland I think its important to recognise the limitations of nationalism a theme central to my Liverpool Mysteries Trilogy.https://www.northodox.co.uk/product-page/the-liverpool-mysteries-series-books-1-3-paperback-pre-order https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/25/who-are-the-irish-history-shows-weve-been-a-mixed-bunch-for-centuries
Shanghai’d
by Jack Byrne Below is a draft opening of a novel. I’m happy to hear your thoughts, if you would like to read more and are willing to give me notes on it get in touch. Chapter 1 March 2021 Mina Mina Haidar came to the Pier Head often, but today was different. A woman…
May Day or Loyalty Day?
May Day or Loyalty Day? May 1st is International Workers Day, to commemorate the struggle for the eight hour day in 1886. During a strike and protest the Haymarket Massacre took place in Chicago when police fought strikers and many died. But did you know the US government tried to replace it with Loyalty Day?…
Irish Eyes – Special Offer
By Mattie Lennon UNDER THE BRIDGE I told you last month that I was starting to read Under the Bridge, the first of Jack Byrne’s trilogy, which covers a hundred years of the connection between Liverpool and the author’s ancestral home of Wicklow. The other two are Across the Water and Before the Storm. After the first few pages I…
The Black Christ?
Arthur John Dooley (17 January 1929 – 7 January 1994) went from being a welder at Cammell Laird shipbuilders on leaving school, to developing as an artist making impassioned religious sculptures in metal, via the Irish Guards, the Palestine Liberation Organisation, and a cleaning job at St. Martin’s School of Art, where he finally found…
|St Patrick and the Irish
The saints day has been marked in Ireland since the 10th Century but became a holy day celebrated by both the Catholic and Anglican churches after a campaign by Franciscan friar Luke Waddington and was established in 1631 on the day of the Saint’s death 17th March. The feast day became a rallying and meeting point for the Irish…
Cries of pain
A symphony of pain or a discordant melody I’m not sure which is closer. As the bus bounced and jolted through the Irish countryside pain played its tune. Bass notes were constant and would rumble and vibrate while the higher ones danced and darted here and there, my left arm was immobile. The hand trembled,…
A Chimney Fire and a Moron
A chimney fire sounds like an oxymoron, words that shouldn’t go together, or sound odd, like Everton and winning, or conservative and caring. But go together they did, the chimney and the fire: not Lizz Truss suddenly caring about the tens of thousands she plunged into fear of bankruptcy, or Boris giving a toss about…
Derry and the Nature of Loss
The marching bands formed high up in the Creggan estate and their rhythms filled the streets. Palestinian flags were everywhere on the march in solidarity with those in Gaza suffering the bombardment from Israel, and for a ceasefire. The wind and rain were determined to whip the march and the flags. but the effect was…
Hope is not the answer in 2024
The devastation and death in Ukraine and Gaza are a denial of Hope, rather than Hope we should look to her daughters. “Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are.” ― Augustine of Hippo I…
How do you determine your own identity when you’re born in England, but don’t identify with ‘Englishness’?
The recent death and funeral of Shane MacGowan has sparked an outpouring of grief internationally, for a musician and poet who fused the sensibilities of 70s punk with traditional Irish music. MacGowan was born in the UK of Irish parents, like another leading light of punk – John Lydon, or Johnny Rotten, of Sex Pistols…
The Mighty Shane and Sinéad Part 2
Most readers of this blog will know by now, that one of my my older brothers committed suicide while in the British Army in Ireland. He was nineteen at the time, I was three days short of my fifteenth birthday. At the age of thirteen I read the Ragged Trousered Philanthropist, and then followed up…
The Mighty Shane and Sinéad
I was recently reminded of my earliest flirtations with punk, I was never a full on punk and went to Eric’s no more than once or twice. I remember Bernie Connor who lived in the same street, playing The Stranglers’ ‘Peaches’ single to me when it first came out, he went on to become an…
Who tells our story?
‘A love letter to Liverpool with a touch of Peaky Blinders’ Story telling is a tradition in many cultures. It becomes a way of passing on the history and culture of a people through legends and myths, often of heroes and villains, sometimes of ordinary people and their way of life. In and around the…
It’s a Small World Across The Water and Under The Bridge
Oh, the waterOh, the waterOh, the waterHope it don’t rain all day Van Morrison ‘And it stoned me’ Pitch black country roads, the rain attacked the car, the wind pushed and pulled trees and branches, leaves flew through the swirling sky. “It was no night to be driving.’ Danny, originally from Carrickfergus, told me about…
Blaming the ‘Far siders’
On a flying visit to Ireland recently, I went to the South West, New Ross and Enniscorthy. I was there looking for a house, so like it or not, I was also part of the conversation about the current housing crisis in Ireland. With the government removing the ban on evictions, on April 1st 2023…
Brexit – The End of Empire – Before the Storm
My latest book Before The Storm is set the day after the Brexit referendum in 2016. Novels work on many levels and as a writer, it’s great when a reader or reviewer sees beyond the immediate plot to look at the larger theme or story. Of course, I am equally pleased when someone says, ‘It…
Remembering the 34 people who lost their lives on this day 49 years ago in the Dublin/Monaghan bombings.
Paddy thought he was above and beyond politics, wine women and song, and a bit of rough and tumble, he was man’s man. Until history came calling in the shape of devastating bombs. I included this chapter in my novel Across The Water for those English readers who thought the British were always the good…
Before the Storm
Review by Danni Williams My Review: Before The Storm begins with a crime scene. A suspected overdose, but something isn’t quite making sense. Alongside this we have Helen who is receiving text messages simply telling her to ‘stay away’, and while reading the most recent message is run off the road resulting in her crashing her…
A Sneak Preview of Before The Storm
Northodox Press have allowed me to give subscribers to my blog a preview of my latest novel. So in the days running up to launch date on the 18th of May I will be posting the first three chapters here. The first two are quite short, the third quite a bit longer. You can use…
Talking of ‘The Troubles’ and Trauma
This interview with New York based podcast Irish Stew looks at the motivation for a novel set in Liverpool and Ireland in the 1970s. Click on the lick below to hear it in full. https://www.irishstewpodcast.com/JackByrneCheckIn/https://www.irishstewpodcast.com/JackByrneCheckIn/ Click on the link below to buy the book. https://www.northodox.co.uk/product-page/across-the-water-paperbackack More about The Liverpool Mysteries
Feedback Time
Set in 2020 facing police violence and climate change a cast of young characters find they need to change themselves before they can change the world. I am revising this novel and would love to hear what you think of this opening- You can comment here or email. If you are interested in reading more…
The Best B&B in Ireland
It was about 5 pm when I walked into Central B&B in Tipperary.Graham’s first words were, ” Will you have a cup of tea?”“I will.” And so began my stay in what I genuinely think of as the best B&B in Ireland. I hadn’t planned to stop in Tipp, but it was 5 pm dark…
Before The Storm
Provisional Image Before the StormComing out in May 2023 This will be the last book in the first cycle of Liverpool Mysteries, following on from the widely acclaimed Under The Bridge, and Across the Water. The Morning After finds us back in Liverpool. This book can be read as a stand alone or as the…
Amnesia or Erasure? The denial of justice
Depending on the dictionary you go to, there are variations in the defintion of amnesia, but it is usually seen an involuntary lapse in memory, due to illness or trauma. It can also be a self defence mechanism. We sometimes consciously try to forget episodes we are not proud of, or behaviour we regret. The…
We all have a Stake in this.
I support Everton, for good or bad as people from other clubs might say, cest la vie, or que será, será, but for Evertonians ‘it is what it is’ seems to fit better. That is the approach of many supporters who have followed the club from the faintly remembered heights of the 80s through the mediocre mid-table…
Everything and Nothing
I took part in a Liverpool Literary Festival, Writing on the Wall event recently, its title was ‘Writing Across Borders’. The title was mine, I had the idea of inviting Paddy Osborne who wrote Baxter’s Boys set in Dublin with a leading Scouse character. So ‘Writing Across Borders’ was to explore my Liverpool Irish characters…
Boooo!
Peter Dwyer explains why he and other Liverpool FC fans booed the monarchy at the FA Cup final in Wembley This article was reprinted from Counterfire follow the link at the bottom to read more and support. When I returned home from Wembley on Saturday night the Daily Mail was running headlines about MPs condemning the ‘shameful abuse’…
‘Writing Across Borders’
‘Writing Across Borders’ ‘Most countries send out oil or iron, steel or gold, or some other crop, but Ireland has had only one export and that is its people.’ John F. Kennedy on his presidential visit to Ireland, June 1963 Reading JFK’s words resonates with how Derry/Londonderry, Dublin and Liverpool have one noteworthy trait. Over…
Why you should listen to The Irish Stew podcast.
https://www.irishstewpodcast.com/blog/why-you-should-listen-to-jack-byrne/ On Christmas Eve 2020, Jack Byrne reached out to see if we’d be interested in doing an episode on his upcoming book. We had only launched the podcast in October and were chuffed that anyone would actually ask to come on the Stew. Things have changed 40 episodes later, much to our delight. Authors…
The One Road – Fiction For Fighting Back
This collection of short stories is reduced to just 99P – Buy and leave a star rating on Amazon. TheOne Road by Jack Byrne is a gripping collection of stories, beginning with the title piece. Death, abuse, regret, identity, prejudice, and redemption, the individuals here are part of a larger story of a nation coming…
Confetti
An excerpt from Across The Water Available from Northodox.co.uk Dublin May 17th, 1974 – 5.30 pm The train rattled and wobbled its way along the coast; Paddy looked at the sea. The ever-present sea, even inland, its waves were felt in the half-empty villages, in the faces of old men whose sons were off to…
Celebrate St Patrick’s day with Liverpool writer Jack Byrne
Jack Byrne, born and raised in Speke of Irish parents and grandparents is charting the life and times of the city’s Irish community in his novels. His first book Under The Bridge set in Garston from the 1950’s to 2000s was called a ‘Love letter to Liverpool with a touch of Peaky Blinders’ by fellow…
You kidding lad? Responding to The Responder
The Responder is a five-part BBC series set in Liverpool. The series follows Chris Carson a police officer struggling with psychological and family issues and a deteriorating work situation. I really didn’t like the start of this series, partly because it was set in Liverpool and it showed a mix of drug dealers, users, and…
Save Oglet Shore
Liverpool John Lennon Airport have published their Masterplan for the greenbelt land around their site. The Airport only received 190 responses and 138 people answered their very biased questionnaire. Our petition is asking both local councils to: * Oppose the expansion of Liverpool airport * Stop the closure of Dungeon Lane and Ashton’s Lane *…
Where was Britain’s First Mosque?
It’s a weird thing. I’ve always known that Brougham terrace existed but never been there. It was one of those reference points, a name that always felt familiar. Wherever I was in the UK or abroad and I needed my birth certificate, I could never find it, and my mum would make the journey to…
Vote for Under The Bridge ‘Book of The Year’
If you would like to support my novel Under The Bridge click this link to vote for it in the publisher’s book of the year contest. A quick and easy you can support my writing, just one click away. Thanks, Jack.https://www.northodox.co.uk/about-4-1
One of The Untold Stories of how the Irish Built England
This was a twitter thread that Fiona@GenXBanshee graciously allowed me to repost. Growing up, my father always insisted that we stop by this pub when back in Ireland. It was non-negotiable— even when keeping our heads ducked low for a covert visit to avoid 1,000 cups of tea with a hundred relatives, we had to…
A New Dawn. A New Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHRNrgDIJfo The words above are from one of the most optimistic songs you’ll hear. If you don’t know it, do yourself a favour and have a listen. Seems appropriate for the new year, it might be a new dawn and a new day, but old crimes come to the surface. the links are for you…
A Dickensian Xmas? Bah Humbug!
Ebenezer Scrooge sits in his counting-house with ledgers and accounts while his workers struggle through adversity to act with humanity and solidarity. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his cronies party in Downing St, while foodbanks collect for the hungry, nurses struggle to look after the ill, and some pensioners are cold and alone. A low…
Laughter and nibbles while people die alone.
The Xmas party that wasn’t, is just the latest in a long line of lies, but it is also the logical conclusion of an ideology that said, ‘There is no such thing as society.’ Margaret Thatcher the hero of the Conservative Party said this in 1987, but the principle was evident in her attitude from…
The Priest is coming!
The knock on the door was followed by the shout ‘The priest is coming.” Shouted because the boy was halfway down the path on his way to next door. It was always boys who went ahead of the priest one each side of the road. ‘The priest’s coming’ would be relayed inside. When I was…
Giving Voice
I am a bit nervous about doing the online event as part of The Liverpool Irish Festival on Monday evening – it would be great to see you there, tickets are free and you can book through the link below. I will be joined by Liverpool historian Greg Quiery. I have done a few press…
Being Irish- The Ghost In The Room
‘Being Irish’ will be published in two weeks, it is a collection of personal reflections on nationality by 101 figures from Ireland and abroad. My contribution is below- Can you support us by joining us for an online chat online on 25th Oct . Click the link to reserve your free ticket https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jack-byrne-a-revolutionary-century-tickets-168966993827?aff=efbeventtix&fbclid=IwAR3wiQQfrokvyz0uO0g3cxBGtqF2UW0d1JVrPHrEifUnP75dEMVrh47e6EY My Irishness…
Liverpool Irish Festival
Join authors Greg Queiry and Jack Byrne for a conversation about the image -and reality- of the Irish Community in Liverpool. Using their publications as reference, they’ll discuss the myths and reality of the city nicknamed ‘Ireland’s second capital’. Greg’s history book, In Hardship and Hope (G&K Publishing, 2017), charts the earliest development of the Irish in…
Far Foreign Land
Far Foreign Land is a memoir that reads like a novel. The author Tony Evans uses a dual narrative of events; the now legendary 2005 UEFA final in Istanbul and the decades of supporting Liverpool that preceded it. The book like the match contains all the highs and lows, the tension and drama of not…
Talking books
The link above is for my appearance on Litopia, a live Youtube show that looks at writers’ submissions.This is live so there is no preparation we see the texts as they appear on the screen and have to respond within seconds with words of wisdom or advice. This was my second appearance and altogether more…
‘The Wicklow Boys’ or ‘Across The Water’?
It’s been a long and winding road. That overused phrase is a good fit for the journey to the publication of my second novel. Nothing is agreed yet so the road can disappear over the horizon. While looking for a publisher and agent for Under The Bridge I took the online advice to start another…
The Lads of Garston
Printed with permission from Greg Quiery His book In Hardship and Hope is available from News From Nowhere. These are the lads of Garston,Who once ruled here, Who stroll on now. Easy. Putting in the long day. Walking the dog.Minding kids<Talking out the past. Here was their summers out of school Their muddy riviera, Where…
Jack Byrne writer and international footballer?
Who doesn’t love a bit chicken? So when I got an email asking if I liked Nando’s, I was curious as to why they were asking… but I replied of course I liked it. Then I got an email from the CEO of Nando’s Ireland; Hey Jack, How’s it going? Hope you don’t mind me…
Crisis What Crisis
I haven’t posted for a couple of weeks, for a couple of reasons I’ve been quite busy writing and doing the advertising and promotion side of things. I was also trying to make progress on the first draft of the fourth book. There is lots of editing and redrafting ahead. Including new drafts of the…
New Edition- On Amazon now.
This is the new cover for The One Road a collection of short stories from the world of The Liverpool Mysteries. If you liked Under The Bridge you will like this. A dark comedy, a buddy story, and a road trip all in one. The opening story in this collection follows Vinny, Kevin, and a…
A bone or a tibia?
‘Awful. Stopped reading it after a few minutes. Very disappointed. I’d be interested in what other readers think or was it just me that was disappointed.’ This is my only one star review on Amazon….so far, the average is 4 star. Overall I don’t think I can complain, and if the ratio stays the same…
The Real Crimes
I am booked to appear on a panel with two other ‘crime writers’ for the UK Crime Book Club on Facebook I will post a link when it comes around. But it got me thinking about UTB as crime novel, this might seem strange, but for me the book has always been primarily about the…
British Justice- My Arse!
The following exchange from Under The Bridge happens early in the book, the conversation is in The Dealers Arms in Garston, between Michael who is in his 60s and a younger Vinny. **** Michael changed the subject. ‘And what do you do? Vincent, is it?’ ‘I work in a shop in town, nothing very exciting.’…
A Love Letter to Liverpool?
Liverpool based author SE Moorhead https://semoorhead.com/ called Under The Bridge ‘A love letter to Liverpool with a touch of the Peaky Blinders’. I really liked this line and I have used it a number of times, its even on the cover of the book. I have to admit the first time I saw it, the…
Radio Interview
Short interview on Under The Bridge the Sean Styles show Radio Merseyside 14th March 2021
How we got here…
The history of Liverpool never ceases to amaze and surprise me, there is always something more to find out. A few readers have commented that they learned something about their home city from reading Under The Bridge. This process is going on all the time for me, but for many, including Vinny in the book,…
Who we are
A member of the facebook group for my novel Under The Bridge https://www.facebook.com/groups/522800758257136 prompted me to think a bit this week. She said that she wasn’t Irish or a republican so wouldn’t join an event hosted by the Irish Centre last week.I wrote back saying ‘you don’t have to be Irish or a republican’ that…
Under The Bridge- Buy it now!
CHAPTER ONE MICHAEL The bone poked out of the mud and into Michael’s life. ‘Whoa, stop, stop!’ Michael, the site caretaker, waved his hands above his head and shouted over the grinding diesel engine. The digger emptied its load on a growing mound of damp earth, a strip of blue tarpaulin hanging from its scoop.…
Humanity and Solidarity vs the ‘ Covid war profiteers’
The martial metaphors abound, fighting the war against the pandemic, the next battle and so on, and this week has made it clear that where ever we are, we are not at the end of this particular fight. Every time we think we see the light at the end of the tunnel, it gets dark…
Buy now-sit back and relax
Northodox Press @northodoxpress·Dec 17Under the Bridge by @Jackbyrnewriter is now available for pre-order in ebook (Kindle & EPUB) and paperback. Publishing 18th Feb 21. Kindle – http://ow.ly/rL4T50CNBKg Ebook – http://ow.ly/atft50CNBKe Paperback – http://ow.ly/F0Wd50CNBKf a free sample – http://ow.ly/LW1250CNBKk Publication day 18th February it will be sent to you.
A Fairytale in …
One of everyone’s favourite Xmas songs has to be Fairytale in New York, but behind the song’s international fame is a story that will ring true for Irish descendants everywhere.. As many of you know Garston was home to a community of emigrants from Wicklow. My books follow some characters from that community through the…
Dev’s Dream. Our Reality.
‘The Ireland that we dreamed of.’ Eamon De Valera 1943 The ideal Ireland that we would have, the Ireland that we dreamed of, would be the home of a people who valued material wealth only as a basis for right living, of a people who, satisfied with frugal comfort, devoted their leisure to the things…
All in a day’s work
The following is an excerpt from the novel Under the Bridge to be published Jan 2021 Micheal is on the night shift at Standard No 2 plant in Speke, Liverpool. 1975 Michael checked the clock. One minute to ten: just enough time to put his sandwiches, flask and newspaper away, and get to his workstation.…
A rose in the river
In 1945 the Labour government deported hundreds of Chinese seamen from Liverpool. Thousands had been brought to the UK to support the war effort and risked their lives on British ships. Many married and started families. Wives and children were left desperate as fathers and husbands were picked up by the police and deported. This…
Risen
Risen Arthur John Dooley (17 January 1929 – 7 January 1994) Worker and sculptor He coughed his way downstairs, tousled thinning hair, his heavy overcoat took the place of a dressing gown over his pyjamas. His wake up fag hung from his lip as he turned on the gas. His fumbling hands expertly struck a…
The Black Christ
The sculptor Arthur Dooley was born in The Dingle, worked in Cammell Lairds, and travelled the world with the Irish Guards, at one point he was a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. A well travelled man he eventually settled back in his native Liverpool. For a period he worked in Dunlops in Speke to…
United We Stand
I posted an article from the Jacobin earlier in the week on the famous battle of Cable street in London. https://www.facebook.com/groups/522800758257136 There was also short qoute from someone born in York St, Garston. He explained how a Polish Jew Mr Tumarkin helped his mother out when she was desperate. The speaker was Jack Jones, the…
Speke Promenade. If only…
Does it sound like a fantasy? We will never know how close we came to it being a reality. The plan of Speke estate from 1937 at the Liverpool Records Office, shows a roundabout at what could be Western Avenue, and a major road continuing right through to the shore. Tom who grew up in…
Death by a Thousand Cuts
I heard this week that the Metal Box in Speke had been knocked down. It had been closed for years so I guess it’s no surprise. My last blog post reported on the closure of many of Liverpool Eight’s clubs, a whole social scene was removed, wiped out. In their heydey some of those clubs…
So good they closed them down.
In my book Under The Bridge, Vinny and Anne are talking, she’s picked him up from Huskisson St in Liverpool Eight and is driving him to Garston. She pulled out into the street, moved up the gears, slowed, and turned into Catherine Street. As they moved through the lights into Princes Avenue, Vinny asked, “Remember…
Building Lives and Families Not Just Motorways
Wicklow, Rathnew and Garston in Liverpool have a long lasting connection, not one recognised by councils and authorities but one long known among residents and families. The One Road is a collection of short stories . The stories set the scene for ‘Under The Bridge,’ my first novel published in January 2021. The excerpt below…
Another Place
Another place…another time…another people…silent figures defying time and tide, looking out to the Mersey Estuary to the migrants who came and left and those who remain. I guess because I am from one of those migrants I feel the pull of these statues. If you haven’t seen them do yourself a favour and make the…
Chickens coming home to roost.
This is one of the most famous political remarks in modern history. It was used by Malcolm X in 1963 when he was in the Nation of Islam but finding it increasingly difficult to remain outside of politics. He was ordered by the leader of the Nation not to comment on Kennedy’s assassination, instead of…
Norwegian Wood, and Rubber Dinghies (from Hindi dingi ‘small boat’ )
The Beatles song always struck me as strangely titled. Wikipedia informs me it refers to the wood panelling in a house in London, where John Lennon was conducting an affair. The novel I am working on at the moment ‘Burning Down The House’ has its final dramatic scenes in The Baltic Triangle. It is an…
The road to publication…is ‘class’ an issue?
I am waiting for an email from a publisher, either of the first two paragraphs below could be true come Monday morning. Scenario AI am really happy to be able to report that an independent publisher has agreed to publish Under The Bridge, although I am sure there will many details to be worked out.…
A Truly Irish and British Thriller
The headline above, and the quote below are both from reviews of my novel Under The Bridge “Written for adult audiences, this thrilling novel explores class distinctions, nationality, identity, and the dynamics of power by combining historical and contemporary content for its mystery plot.” You can read the full reviews here https://jackbyrne.home.blog/under-the-bridge/ They mark the…
The Ragged Arsed Philanthropists
Philanthropist noun noun: philanthropist; plural noun: philanthropists a person who seeks to promote the welfare of others, especially by the generous donation of money to good causes. ‘Ragged Arsed,’ sounds much more authentic. Robert Tressell or Noonan on his mother’s side left a legacy of a book first published in 1914 but credited by some with ‘helping…
Another Crash?
Fifty-five years ago this week, on 20 July 1965 a there was an event that shocked the people of Speke and Garston. In a way, it was a foreshadowing of what the recession of the seventies would do to the industry in the area. In this case, it was a Cambrian Airlines plane that had…
Reds on top again?
Congratulations to Liverpool and all the club’s fans. I am not a big football supporter. I wasn’t as a kid, and am not now. There was a period when I followed Everton quite closely, but it was mainly to be able to talk to my dad who was a big blues fan. Toward the end…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
Jack Byrne 