Born and raised in Bundoran, with the waves of the west coast of Ireland breaking at his doorstep, Richie Fitzgerald was moulded by his environment – from his initiation to surfing at the age of 9 in the cold Atlantic water to becoming Ireland’s first ever pro surfer and competing on a global scale.

But learning to surf in 1980s Ireland wasn’t without its challenges. With little to no equipment, Richie duct-taped Marigolds over woollen gloves to protect his hands from the freezing water and even melted Christening candles to pour on his board in place of surf wax.

Yet the west of Ireland boasts waves of size and quality to rival those in California and Hawaii, attracting surfers from all over the world who want to test their mettle, and Richie has surfed the biggest, and most dangerous, of them.

Cold-Water Eden is not just a captivating memoir about a transcendent sport: it is at its heart a coming-of-age story about one man’s pursuit of big waves and the dawn of Ireland as a singular destination on the global surf scene.

Dove Connolly is dead. That’s not good for anyone in Tullyanna, never mind Dove.

Now his best friend Sharkey is home asking awkward questions about Dove’s death, about the strange graphic novel he left behind, and, most of all, about Sandra. Sandra Mohan. Missing now for over a decade, whereabouts unknown.

This, however, is a town dead-set on keeping its secrets. And Sharkey is already drawing attention from all the wrong quarters?

A mystery, a black comedy, a satire on Ireland’s tangled politics of memory, Brouhaha is set in a small town on the Irish border during the uneasy transition to peace. And peace doesn’t come easy in these parts.

*****
Over the past few days, Kevin, no flies on him, had sensed a tension in the town thanks to Dove Connolly’s poor decision to blow his own head off. It wasn’t just the act of self-harm itself, the pointless splattering of blood and bone and brain all over his bedroom wall, that was the issue, unsettling as that was. In so doing, poor Dove had spread panic amongst the townspeople, raising all sorts of ugly questions, reviving all sorts of rumours, and inviting all sorts of unwelcome attention upon them. In Kevin’s mind, there was method in Dove’s madness. Showing a shocking assertiveness for possibly the first time in his life, and the last, says you, Dove blew the lid off the whole town.

Don’t worry, this isn’t a book telling you how to live off the grid and make your own planet-friendly soap from woodlice (that’s the sequel). Instead, Climate Worrier is about the journey, about trying (and often failing) to be part of the solution to the big issues, while not despairing at the endless hypocrisies that come from also being part of the problem. It’s about trying to be become the greenest version of yourself; about joining the ranks of those who give a shit and do a bit.

So if you’ve fretted about:
– using your diesel car to get closer to nature,
– eating your ethical food off a plastic plate,
– existing
and have a general feeling we’re all doing too little, too late, Climate Worrier is the book for you.

Enter the comfort zone with TikTok sensation Daniel Lambert’s delicious and playful recipes.

Sometimes all we want for dinner is golden, crunchy and moreish, so whether it’s Salt and Chilli Chicken for Friday-night dinner, Irish-style Potato Nachos for when friends come over, or Cheeseburger Tacos if you fancy something new, Daniel Lambert has you covered.

With chapters such as Potato Party, The Cure, and So Wrong But So Right, Lush puts the fun back into cooking with 100 easy-to-make recipes. So load up your forks – this is the feel-good cookbook you’ve been waiting for.

Dove Connolly is dead. That’s not good for anyone in Tullyanna, never mind Dove.

Now his best friend Sharkey is home asking awkward questions about Dove’s death, about the strange graphic novel he left behind, and, most of all, about Sandra. Sandra Mohan. Missing now for over a decade, whereabouts unknown.

This, however, is a town dead-set on keeping its secrets. And Sharkey is already drawing attention from all the wrong quarters?

A mystery, a black comedy, a satire on Ireland’s tangled politics of memory, Brouhaha is set in a small town on the Irish border during the uneasy transition to peace. And peace doesn’t come easy in these parts.

*****
Over the past few days, Kevin, no flies on him, had sensed a tension in the town thanks to Dove Connolly’s poor decision to blow his own head off. It wasn’t just the act of self-harm itself, the pointless splattering of blood and bone and brain all over his bedroom wall, that was the issue, unsettling as that was. In so doing, poor Dove had spread panic amongst the townspeople, raising all sorts of ugly questions, reviving all sorts of rumours, and inviting all sorts of unwelcome attention upon them. In Kevin’s mind, there was method in Dove’s madness. Showing a shocking assertiveness for possibly the first time in his life, and the last, says you, Dove blew the lid off the whole town.

That’s about as far as you get, counting backwards, as you wait for surgery to begin – and that’s all most people know about what I do.

But what happens between you conking out and waking up? And what does the anaesthetist have to do with it all? Do they just sit around playing sudoku while the rest of the team do all the hard work? And why are they so obsessed with what time you ate dinner?

Join Colin Black on his journey from accidental medical student to HSE and NHS trainee and, finally, Consultant Paediatric Anaesthetist at the largest children’s hospital in Ireland, where any given day could end in laughter or tears – and that’s just the staff.

Razor-sharp and forthright, Gas Man is a disarming and frequently hilarious account of life in one of the most fascinating and thrilling professions at medicine’s frontline, where every day is a heady cocktail of severe pressure, poignancy, and profound social awkwardness.

In 1987 Robert Harris happened upon an unusual job advert in The Kerryman – a new warden service was being set up on Skellig Michael, and the deadline was imminent. Just weeks later he was on his way to set up camp in one of Ireland’s most remote locations, unaware that he would be making that same journey every May for the next 30 years.

Here he transports us to the otherworldly island, a place that is teeming with natural life, including curious puffins that like to visit his hut. From the precipice he has observed a coastline that is relatively unchanged for the last thousand years – a beacon of equilibrium in an ever-changing world.

But the island can be fierce too. Inhabitable only for five months of the year, solitude can quickly become isolation as bad weather rolls in to create a veil between Skellig Michael and the rest of the world, when the dizzying terrain can become a very real threat to life.

Returning Light is an extraordinary memoir about the profound effect a place can have on us, and how a remote location can bring with it a great sense of belonging.