Welcome to my Website

My second book, ‘The Happening at Bessbrook’ has just been published.

1904 in the village of Bessbrook, Armagh, Evie O’Dowd collapses outside the mill where she works as a doffer.   A strange thing happens to Evie and the community of which she feels so much a part is divided on the truth of it. This story tells of Evie’s struggle to be believed and of her search for acceptance. The Happening at Bessbrook is an inspirational story of courage in the face of doubt and how personal faith and determination can lead to the greatest fulfilment.

‘Celia’s Secret: A Journey towards Reconciliation’ published in 2015.

‘Celia’s Secret’ is a deeply personal and truthful account of the struggles emanating from the discovery of a family secret.  Through the process of exploration, I tried to answer questions by reflecting on the past in order to reach some form of resolution. Beginning in wartime Manchester in 1942, a time when rules and boundaries were set aside, the secret emerges through my own biographical story.

Although the book reflects on many dark issues, it is, ultimately, a work of positive fulfilment.  I tell this story for myself and my family, to exorcize ghosts and respond to a deeply-held need to be reconciled with my much-loved mother.

I hope ‘Celia’s Secret’ will appeal to Christian thinkers, to counsellors and to people working in the caring professions or to anyone who has a desire to understand the foibles of human interaction and motivation.