Liam Mac Cóil

A prose stylist par excellence, Liam Mac Cóil is one of Ireland’s finest writers in any language. His first novel, An Dochtúir Áthas, won immediate acclaim for its fusion of detective fiction and Freudian psychoanalysis. Writing in the Irish Times, Pól Ó Muirí described the historical thriller An Litir as ‘a swashbuckling adventure set in Galway in 1612, with an evocative cover that speaks of action and adventure. Then again, perhaps using the word “swashbuckling” does Mac Cóil a disservice. He has written a fine novel that makes Irish very physical – that is to say, reminds the reader that vigorous descriptions of action, movement and violence are as much a part of the language’s repertoire as the reflections and loftier moments found in its poetry. You can feel the boots and blades in Mac Cóil’s Galway’.

Liam Mac Cóil is also the author of An Chláirseach agus an Choróin, a tour-de-force biographical study of composer Charles Villiers Standford. Mac Cóil has had his work published in Comhar, Feasta and Aimsir Óg.