Dermot Bolger is an Irish novelist whose work often addresses the experiences of working-class characters who feel alienated from society. He critically examines the relevance of traditional nationalist concepts of Irishness, advocating for a more pluralistic and inclusive society. Bolger's writing delves into the search for identity and belonging in the modern world, giving voice to those often overlooked.
Set in 1941, the narrative unfolds within the confines of Grangegorman Mental Hospital, where the lives of four individuals intersect. Each character grapples with the profound impacts of war, betrayal, and personal trauma, revealing the deep scars that conflict leaves on the human psyche. Their stories intertwine, exploring themes of resilience and the quest for healing amidst a backdrop of historical turmoil.
This is Dermot Bolger's latest poetry collection. Every night during a year of the recent Covid 19 lockdown Bolger took long walks through the streets of Dublin. During these walks he allowed his imagination free rein and these resulting poems revisit central events during his life and also reflect upon the lives of others.
A widow spends weeks haunting a cemetery, desperate to track down an unknown woman who keeps leaving flowers on her husband's grave; A daughter searches a foreign city for her father, trying to understand why he disappeared forty-five years ago; A former gay lover of Roger Casement stands among the crowds at his state funeral in 1965, paying silent homage to the closeted world they were forced to inhabit at the dawning of the Irish State. A writer at a book launch comes face to face with the person secretly responsible for his success. In his first collection of short stories, Dermot Bolger peers under the veneer of our lives, exploring the secrets that bind families together, or tear them apart, creating worlds where people find that nothing is truly certain. There are always truths just beyond reach that would make sense of their lives, if they only know how to unlock them.
A towering achievement by one of Ireland's best-loved authors about the unshakeable bonds of family, the indestructability of love and the price a woman pays for the right to be herself.
The Dublin Illustrated Edition of Ulysses, endorsed by The James Joyce Centre, meticulously recreates the 1922 text. Ulysses chronicles the passage of Leopold Bloom through Dublin during an ordinary day, 16 June 1904. Ulysses' stream-of-consciousness technique, careful structuring, and experimental prose: full of puns, parodies, and allusions, as well as its rich characterizations and broad humor, made the book a highly regarded novel in the Modernist pantheon. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Ulysses first on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. This is the first edition ever published in Ireland.
A spellbinding novel based on a real-life rescue in 1943, when the crew of a neutral Irish ship rescued 168 drowning German sailors. A story of romance and war, where every experience is intense and dangerous.
Written by a master story-teller, Tanglewood grows into an incisive dissection of Ireland in 2007, when - although these characters are unaware of it - the Celtic Tiger edifice is quietly imploding.
Exploring the depths of grief, the author reflects on the transformative power of loss and the unexpected return to poetry. This collection captures a journey through sorrow, ultimately emerging as a celebration of life and resilience. With a blend of raw emotion and beauty, it invites readers to confront their own experiences of grief while finding solace in the written word. The work is both unflinching and poignant, resonating deeply with those who have navigated similar feelings.
Dermot Bolger's superb new novella explores what changes in the human condition and what remains inalterably enduring.
Shane is Joey's new best friend, with a personality for every occasion and a strange sense of recklessness. Joey longs to get close to Geraldine, but she won't have anything to do with him while Shane is around. Is Geraldine right to suspect that Shane is weaving a net of evil around them? And who is the strange old man...