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Welcome!

I'm an author, editor, researcher, journalist and broadcaster. I do other mundane stuff like going to the shops, staying up too late, cooking curries, looking after two cats and being a tiresome husband who just won't put on his glasses when he is looking at something.
  
I was born in Dublin, Ireland (Walkinstown), in 1968. The (Walkinstown) is there because I just know when I'm dead and buried (or cremated - I'm struggling with that), someone on social media is going to argue that I was born in Crumlin or Drimnagh, Dublin. So, let's just get that sorted now.

I've been writing for more than forty years. That makes me feel old, but I've been a writer ever since I was ten years of age. There were other distractions along the way like Lego, engineering and planes, motor racing, and a desperate need to master the guitar or keyboard - all of which I could never find a full time job with.

I've published a good few books. I stopped counting after six and those books include several novels and non-fiction books. Some of you might know me from the ones I've published on the aspect of writing and the publishing industry, as well as multiple articles I've written for national and international magazines and news outlets.

Funny, no one remembers me for my novels and poetry. Sad. I must try harder!

A few shout-outs... I've written many informative and illuminating articles in print and online: Writers' Forum, Self-Publishing Magazine UK and Publetariat, about the changing and complex world of the publishing industry. Hey-ho, I was even featured in the Irish Times "The Irish players at the forefront of new publishing" in 2015. Maybe that's where it all went wrong!

 Seems like an eternity ago!

Almost forgot, ... in 2010, I published To Self-Publishing or Not to Self-Publish with Troubador Publishing UK, and I followed this book up with another guide, Choosing A Self-Publishing Provider, published by ALLi (The Alliance of Independent Authors).

I am the former editor and researcher at The Independent Publishing Magazine and editor and content strategist of TAUS Review, a publication for the global translation industry (great experience).

By 2019, I felt a reinvention and return to journalism was in order and I also had new projects to move onto. My primary focus is now on social media journalism, rather than print media.

I broadcast as an interviewer and researcher on Radio Espial covering various issues from missing persons, true crime, the media and aviation industries. You can also find me here on YouTube.

Though born in Ireland, I now live in the Netherlands. It's not an escape or holiday... it's my home, and has been for more than ten years. 

POPULAR POSTS

The Case of Raonaid Murray

The body of Raonaid Murray (17) was found at Silchester Crescent, Glenageary, Dublin, less than 500 metres from her home on September 3rd, 1999. She was returning at approximately 11.20 pm from a night out at Scotts pub in Dun Laoghaire town centre. Her intention, made known to friends by mobile phone (using her friend's device at Scotts), was to return home, change, and head out to a local nightclub around midnight. She never got home. She was stabbed to death near her home (about 10 minutes away) while walking up a footpath with a one-and-a-half inch knife around midnight or shortly before. Forensics revealed that she was stabbed multiple times, but many initial wounds were not fatal or intrusive and would case death, as if punishment wounds. She staggered some 15 metres before the fatal stab wounds were delivered to her side and piercing vital organs. She bleed to death and about 20 minutes later and was discovered by her elder sister out with her friends earlier when they exite
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WOKE: The Trope That Doesn't Work

WOKE - a word we now hear so often used in ridicule of others on social media commentary. But like so many tropes used against others, its user - by the mere act of using it - clearly demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of its true meaning and origin. If anything, its usage, now defines more the user, than the intended reciprocate. And its not a new word by any stretch of 21st Century meaning. It dates back more than 80 years but has only in the past few years reignited its common and increasing usage in everyday English language. ORIGIN - THE WOKE It originally dates back to a comment from an African American United Mine Workers official in 1940 (USA), stating: "Let me tell you buddy. Waking up is a damn sight harder than going to sleep, but we'll stay woke up longer." Think of all the times in exchanges online (primarily social media) that you've been described as 'woke' in a derogatory way. Ask yourselves, have you noticed how often those throwing
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Annie McCarrick Case Update and RTE Documentary (May 2023)

UPDATE MAY 2023 Having announced in March 2023 that Annie’s case was to be upgraded to a murder enquiry, further revelations are broadcast in a May 8th RTE documentary - Missing: Beyond the Vanishing Triangle. This documentary introduces two new pieces of information. However, I’ve some serious concerns about the accuracy and relevance of this information against the known facts and timeline.     Documentary Review, Keeping with Reality - Missing: Beyond the Vanishing Triangle (Annie McCarrick Case)  
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