About

From Wicklow, I studied at The School of History in University College Dublin. My first major research was in the field of early modern Irish history, but I also have a big interest in medieval history and many aspects of modern history too.  My thesis and first book were a biographical study of the Donegal chieftain Red Hugh O’Donnell (1572-1602), published as Red Hugh O’Donnell and the Nine Years War (Four Courts Press, 2005). My second book, also concerned with early modern Irish history, The Donegal Plantation and the Tír Chonaill Irish, 1610-1710 (Maynooth Local Studies, 2010), followed a few years later. Throughout this time I maintained my interest in medieval history and decided to write my first book about medieval Irish history, The Battle of Clontarf, Good Friday, 1014 (Four Courts Press, 2013), as the millennial anniversary of this famous battle approached. Richard II and the Irish Kings (Four Courts Press, 2016), followed three years later. The Kings of Aileach and the Vikings, AD 800-1060, the final installment in my trilogy of books dealing with interesting stories from medieval Ireland, was published by Four Courts Press in 2020.