Patrick MacGill, known as "The Navvy Poet," was an Irish journalist and novelist whose work draws deeply from his experiences as a laborer and his service during the First World War. Through his novels, he captures the stark realities of working-class life and the brutalities of conflict. MacGill's literary legacy continues to be celebrated through annual summer schools and dramatic portrayals of his life.
First published in 1914, Children of the Dead End was a hugely popular and influential book on release. This autobiographical novel provides a fascinating window to the past with vivid descriptions of the lives of itinerant workers of just a century ago.