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In this collection, actor and seanchaí (traditional storyteller) Éamon Kelly's finest stories are collected for the first time: stories of the real Kerry and the magical past of the Gobán Saor, the heartbreak of emigration, the stations, the priests, the courting and dancing, the war between the sexes. Kelly mines a rich seam of humour and sadness out of resilience of a people rich in hospitality and generosity, imagination, culture and tradition.

"By the early 2000s, women in Ireland were arguably freer than any past generation to shape their sexual lives amidst the social freedoms of a globalised society. The Salley Gardens presents reflections from seventy-three heterosexual young women on growing up, forming sexual relationships and some becoming mothers in the last years of the 'Celtic Tiger'. The authors explore their hope and despair about what it means to be a woman, to use their agency, within the inescapable tensions of newly wealthy Ireland. Their efforts to build their sexual lives are complex and the significant problems they encountered remain unresolved. Women's search for agency is woven into our complex history and continues to reverberate. The bewildering juxtapositions young women faced fifteen years ago have intensified in the present. Then and now, we face conflicts with social expectations of our lives as sexual women, caring women, partners, wives, and mothers. Turning our older history in Ireland towards an exuberant resistance enables us to illuminate the limitations of the female identities imposed by contemporary Ireland. The Salley Gardens helps us rethink what we mean by agency and resistance, revaluing women's actions as we endeavour to value our own lives"--

Barry Murphy was a third year engineering student in Dublin when his life changed dramatically. He was out celebrating the results of his exams when he met Katie McCarthy in a night club in Temple Bar. There was instant chemistry between the two of them. The following night Katie was viciously attacked by a serial rapist and left for dead. She was taken to hospital where she lay in a coma. Katie's father, Mike[Mac] McCarthy, jumped to the wrong conclusions and blamed Barry for the attack. To all who knew him Mac was an honest businessman and a devoted father, but there was a dark side to him that very few people knew. Mac was the boss of a leading Dublin criminal gang, and was responsible for most of the crime in South Dublin for over twenty years. His failed attempt to kidnap Barry Murphy was to lead to his eventual downfall. To avoid the wrath of McCarthy Barry fled to New York, where he worked with his uncle. Nobody except one man knew where he was. That man was Inspector Higgins, the policeman in charge of the investigation into the attack on Katie. In the course of the investigation he came across evidence that linked McCarthy to some of the major crimes that had taken place in the city. He got the green light from his superiors to follow up on this evidence, and to bring to justice those responsible. The rapist, having been thwarted in his attempt to rape Katie, tried again but was overcome by a plucky young nurse working in the north side of the city. He was arrested and convicted, and sent to prison. Inspector Higgins himself became the victim of a drive by shooting, organised by McCarthy. He survived and pursued the investigation to the end. While Mac was not arrested his friends in crime were. Mac changed his appearance and left the country before all hell broke loose. His family were devastated to learn of his secret life. They got on with their lives as best they could. Barry returned to give evidence at the trial, and watch those who had been responsible for all his misfortunes sent to prison. During the trial he met up with Katie again, and hoped that they would be able to put the events of the past year behind them.

'The exile Returns' is the follow up to 'Exiled by Evil', a story about gang crime in Dublin. Barry Murphy was driven into exile because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. In 'The Exile Returns' Barry returns to Dublin to give evidence against the men responsible for forcing him to flee for his life. He renews his relationship with Katie McCarthy, the daughter of the criminal gang leader. Katie's father had fled the country before the trial, but vowed to return to get his revenge on Barry Murphy

Written in prison in South Africa, Ireland and the United States, Enemy of the Empire was originally a device for keeping sane in a situation of extreme boredom and oppression. A trained aviation engineer, up-to-date with the latest technology, Eamon McGuire worked in countries that were extricating themselves from the bonds of empire such as Kenya and Malaysia. His mission was to keep ahead of the British army in terms of weapons and detection by procuring and designing systems. His activities forced him to go on the run, hiding in remote parts of Africa and eventually ending up in war-torn Mozambique. He was captured by the CIA in South Africa and subsequently spent several years in various prisons where he started to write what became the basis of this book.

Since the 1970s people have been murdering their neighbours in Northern Ireland. This book is the true account of the small-town violence and terror which lies behind the headlines.

Irish Travellers have never enjoyed a higher profile, at home and abroad, for good reasons and bad. On the one hand are the positive stories like the success of boxers such as John Joe Nevin and Tyson Fury, the popularity of Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and Paddy Doherty's victory on Celebrity Big Brother. On the other are controversial news stories such as the Dale Farm stand-off and the recent convictions for slavery. Gypsy Empire delves into the heart of Traveller life, focusing on three aspects that have coloured perceptions of Travellers among the wider community: family feuds, bare-knuckle fights and trading. Many Irish Travellers are driven by the need to prove their status among their own, a powerful instinct epitomised by those who engage in brutal bare-knuckle fights. These bouts are fuelled by family feuds which sometimes erupt in vicious acts of violence. We meet many colourful characters, among them some of the world's most prolific and gifted criminals, their self-reliance providing an edge over other crime gangs. This is a golden era for the Traveller clans which are expanding and growing like never before. Gypsy Empire takes the reader inside the hidden world of Irish Travellers.