Showing results by narrator "Gerry O’Brien" in All Categories

Highly acclaimed suspense writer Patrick McCabe has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize for both The Butcher Boy and Breakfast on Pluto. In Winterwood, Redmond Hatch takes his family on vacation to the secluded mountains where he grew up, only to have his life shattered by a disastrous chain of events that quickly spirals out of control.

Ireland’s Secret War reveals strategic Nazi intentions for Ireland and the real role of leading government figures of the time, placing Dan Bryan and G2—the military intelligence branch of the Irish Defence Forces—at the centre of the country’s battle against Nazi Germany. With the help of over 35 hours of previously unpublished audio recordings that were held in storage in Northern California for over 50 years, Marc Mc Menamin reveals the extraordinary unheard history of WWII in Ireland, told from the point of view of the main protagonists.

David Rupert, a complete outsider with no connection to Ireland, rose to the very top of the Real IRA, all while working for the FBI and British intelligence. But the story is really about just how a bored, frustrated New York trucking manager becomes one of Britain’s most valued spies, brings down the entire IRA structure and makes $10 million in the process.

One of the great novels in the Irish comic tradition, The Crock of Gold (1912) consists of six parts. Bringing together pagan gods, policemen, prisoners, leprechauns and animals, the narrative concerns a philosopher and his quest to find the most beautiful woman in the world, Cáitilin Ni Murrachu, who has been abducted by the god Pan. His journey takes him from dark forests to the spectacular heights of pagan gods, as he experiences encounters that will change him forever.

With his fiery Irish blood and well-known reputation for trouble, Lieutenant George Markham leads his embattled Royal Marines against the French in Corsica. His mission: to seize the island. Markham ventures across the island to persuade the veteran war hero Pasquali Paoli to unite the Corsicans behind him. But their loyalty remains torn by a heritage of vendettas, French bribery, and cross and double cross.

The French Revolution is turning in on itself even as the war with the English drags on. As the armies move towards Italy, George Markham and his Marines find themselves assigned to the sloop Sylphide under the impetuous Captain Germain. Set ashore in the midst of the French army, Markham is charged with escorting a group of loyalists on a secret mission and is soon wishing he was back in the thick of it at sea.

The Happy Prince and Other Tales (sometimes called The Happy Prince and Other Stories) is a collection of stories for children by Oscar Wilde first published in May 1888. It contains five stories: "The Happy Prince", "The Nightingale and the Rose", "The Selfish Giant", "The Devoted Friend", and "The Remarkable Rocket".

Random House presents the audiobook edition of From a Low and Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan, read by Stephen Hogan, Gerry O'Brien and Ramon Tikaram. Farouk’s country has been torn apart by war. Lampy’s heart has been laid waste by Chloe. John’s past torments him as he nears his end. The refugee. The dreamer. The penitent. From war-torn Syria to small-town Ireland, three men, scarred by all they have loved and lost, are searching for some version of home. Each is drawn towards a powerful reckoning, one that will bring them together in the most unexpected of ways.

Sean O'Driscoll's Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber tells the astonishing story of Rose Dugdale, who went on to become a committed terrorist, participating in a major art heist and a bombing raid on a police and army barracks, who kept a pregnancy secret for nine months in prison and gave birth there and who ended up at the heart of the IRA's bomb-making operation during its deadly final spasms in the 1990s.

A House of Pomegranates is a collection of fairy tales, written by Oscar Wilde, which was published in 1891 as a second collection for The Happy Prince and Other Tales (1888). Wilde once said that this collection was "intended neither for the British child nor the British public."

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of The Blue Guitar by John Banville, read by Gerry O'Brien. Adultery is always put in terms of thieving, but we were happy together, simply happy. Oliver Orme is a painter who has abandoned his art. His days are now haunted by loss: loss of desire, of artistic vision, of the people he has loved. And only now does he realize that those around him understand him more than he does himself.

Jim Foley loves his parents, his brother, his sister, Dickens and God, although not necessarily in that order. Later, he loves Kate, enough to make her his wife; later still, he loves his children, Jack and Hannah. This is Jim's story, from early days spent in County Clare to early adulthood in America, and back to Clare again.

Two guards; one nun; one judge. When a letter containing a list of victims arrives in the post, PI Jack Taylor is sickened, but tells himself the list has nothing to do with him. He has enough to do just staying sane. His close friend Ridge is recovering from surgery and alcohol's siren song is calling to him ever more insistently. A guard and then a judge die in mysterious circumstances. But it is not until a child is added to the list that Taylor determines to find the identity of the killer, and stop them at any cost.

Campeón, an orange tiger-striped kitten, has always wanted to be a great hero, like the legendary cats of El Morro in Old San Juan. Sadly, the world no longer needs fierce swashbucklers or acts of derring-do, and the cats of El Morro barely remember their legacy. This all changes when Campeón stumbles upon a band of time-traveling pirate cats digging for a treasure map in a mysterious mangrove forest.

Early one October morning, Grace’s mother snatches her from sleep and brutally cuts off her hair, declaring, 'You are the strong one now.' With winter close at hand and Ireland already suffering, Grace is no longer safe at home. And so her mother outfits her in men’s clothing and casts her out. When her younger brother Colly follows after her, the two set off on a remarkable odyssey in the looming shadow of their country’s darkest hour.

Patrick Deeley's train journey home to rural East Galway in autumn 1978 was a pilgrimage of grief: his giant of a father had been felled, the hurley-making workshop silenced. From this moment, Patrick unfolds his childhood as a series of evocative moments, from the intricate workings of the timber workshop run by his father to the slow taking apart of an old tractor and the physical burial of a steam engine.

This classic, early 19th century science fiction masterpiece serves as both a wonderful period presentation of the time as well as a cautionary tale. Called by many a "chilling novel account of a Martian invasion of London in the nineteenth century - a science fiction classic for all time." It was made famous by Orson Welles Mercury Theatre mid 20th Century adaptation that literally had thousands of people running for their lives at the time in the Northeast U.S. H. G.

A collection of 11 new short stories and six new poems by Ireland's top children's writers, edited by Laureate na nOg Eoin Colfer. Each of the stories and poems is based around the theme of place, being set or inspired by a particular location within Ireland.

Delve into the heart of religious history, where the enduring legacy of the Abrahamic faiths converge with tales of war and theology, revealing their profound impact on contemporary society. In this compelling narrative, religious historian Frank Kenny navigates the complex evolution of a warlike deity from the early scriptures of Jerusalem to the verses of the Bible and Qur’an they inspired. Challenging the one-dimensional portrayal of a benevolent God, The God of War offers a multifaceted view that spans the history of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Jack Taylor brings death and pain to everyone he loves. His only hope of redemption - his surrogate son, Cody - is lying in hospital in a coma. At least he still has Ridge, his old friend from the Guards, though theirs is an unorthodox relationship. When she tells him that a boy has been crucified in Galway city, he agrees to help her search for the killer.