Showing results by narrator "Aoife McMahon " in All Categories

From the opening story about a married woman who takes a trip to the city with a single purpose in mind - to sleep with another man - Antarctica draws you into a world of obsession, betrayal and fragile relationships.

In Blarney, Cork, an old millworker's cottage guards its secrets. In 1921 a mother, father and their two young children disappeared from this house. And now, 95 years later, their mummified bodies have been discovered under the floorboards. As DS Katie Maguire investigates, the flames of old family rivalries flare up once more...and Katie is caught in the crossfire.

Lily Fleury used to love visiting her eccentric grandmother Sylvia in Ireland, taking long sunset walks on the beach and exploring the nooks and crannies of the family’s old home Magnolia Manor. But when she arrives from Dublin broken-hearted, hoping to heal in Sylvia’s warm embrace, she finds the once ornate Georgian house in disrepair and the gardens wildly overgrown. Sylvia has always been fiercely independent, but Lily can’t believe she hasn’t told anyone she’s been struggling.

Watch for seal-skinned selkies coming to shore every ninth day to dance—but keep a safe distance, lest you become mesmerized. If you spy a fair mermaid combing her hair whilst sitting upon a rock, look away, as that could be bad luck indeed. And legend has it that just one encounter with the silver-tongued fairy known as the Charmer may leave a person lovesick and heartbroken. This gorgeous book offers illuminating introductions to fifteen remarkable fairies, the lesser-known heroes and villains of Irish folklore.

Dive into the heart of medieval Ireland with this historical tale of courage, deception, and the relentless pursuit of power. Aoife, the defiant daughter of the dethroned King of Leinster, is thrust from a life of privilege into the heart of political and familial turmoil. Promised in marriage to the formidable Norman warrior, Strongbow, her life becomes a canvas of conflict, painted with the broad strokes of national upheaval and the intricate lines of personal betrayal.

On the night that Aunty dies, the Raggedy Witches come for Mup's mam. Pale, cold, relentless, they will do anything to coax Mam back to Witches Borough. When they kidnap Mup's dad, Mup and her mam must leave the mundane world to rescue him. But Mam is strange on this side of the border - striding, powerful, and distant. Even if they can save Dad, Mup is not sure anything will ever be the same again....

An enchanting and nostalgic tale of Ireland in the 1950s by Ireland’s favourite writer, Alice Taylor. The Phelans have owned Mossgrove for generations. The small, rural Irish farm has been the pride of them all until Ned's wife, Martha, arrives and begins to undermine generations of hard work and happiness. She resents the deep history of the place and sets about making it her own, shutting out what is left of Ned's family. She is particularly jealous of Ned's sister, Kate, a local nurse and doting aunt to Martha's children.

From 1820 to 1860, nearly two million Irish migrated to the United States, mostly due to the Great Irish Famine of 1845-1852. Many died crossing the ocean due to disease and dismal conditions of what became known as coffin ships. Not Forgotten is the story of love and loss, enchantment and despair, joy and sorrow. Nora Brown was smitten when she met Oliver McManus. After fathering six children with Nora, Oliver disappeared, joining the Irish Brotherhood and leaving his family behind, he never returned.

Sid wears her independence like armour. So when she strikes up a rare connection with unlucky-in-love Finn, they are both determined to prove that men and women can just be friends. Marin has the perfect home, attentive husband, two beloved children - and a secret addiction to designer clothes. She knows she has it all, so why can't she stop comparing herself to other women? Bea believes that we all have one love story - and she's had hers. Now her life centres around her son, Luke, and her support group of fierce single women. But there's something that she can't tell anyone.

On an isolated beach set against a lonely windswept coastline, a pale figure sits serenely against a sand dune staring out to sea. His hands are folded neatly in his lap, his ankles are crossed and there is a faint smile on his otherwise lifeless face. Months later, after a fruitless investigation, the nameless stranger is buried in an unmarked grave. But the mystery of his life and death lingers on, drawing the nearby villagers into its wake. From strandings to shipwrecks, it is not the first time that strangeness has washed up on their shores.

Niamh and Conor Ryan are the perfect power couple: smart, successful and beautiful, they have an enviable relationship and an idyllic family life. But then the unthinkable happens. Their oldest son, Tom, is the victim of a hit-and-run. What was Tom doing out walking so late at night? Did he really have problems sleeping, or was he secretly meeting someone? Is it a coincidence that his friend, Lauren, committed suicide nearby - or is there something more sinister going on?

A missing girl. A case that's personal. A contract killer on Irish soil. Cat Connolly is back at work. Struggling to adjust to physical and mental scars, her workload once again becomes personal when her best friend, Sarah Jane, goes missing. Sarah Jane's a journalism student, the daughter of a decorated war correspondent, but what could she be working on that could lead to her disappearance? And how deadly will it get?

Cathy Connolly discovers the bones of a baby concealed in the hem of an old wedding dress. When the dress' original owner, Lavinia Grant, is found dead in a Dublin suburb, Cathy is drawn deep into a complex web of secrets and lies spun by three generations of women. Meanwhile, a fugitive killer has already left two dead in execution style killings across the Atlantic - and now he's in Dublin with old scores to settle. Can the team track him down before he kills again?

Reporter Sally Hayden was at home in London when she received a message on Facebook: “Hi sister Sally, we need your help.” The sender identified himself as an Eritrean refugee who had been held in a Libyan detention center for months, locked in one big hall with hundreds of others. From this single message begins a staggering account of the migrant crisis across North Africa. With unprecedented access, Hayden’s book is based on interviews with hundreds of refugees and migrants who tried to reach Europe and found themselves stuck in Libya.

Southampton, 1912. Jessie is made from tough stuff. At just 19, after the death of her father, she opted not to follow her mother back to Ireland, preferring instead to take charge of her own destiny. When Jessie marries an Irishman and takes over the running of the cafe she works in, it seems as though all the pieces are coming together. But when destiny and a pushy local businessman have other ideas, everything she has worked for is taken away, bit by bit. Will she find the strength to keep fighting for the life she wants in the face of personal loss, gang bosses and embezzlement?

The Irish Classics Collection is a wide-ranging collection of 9 classic works of fiction and poetry by Irish authors, read by an award-winning cast of narrators. Included here are stories by some of the greatest writers of all time, including James Joyce; Bram Stoker; Oscar Wilde; W.B. Yeats; Elizabeth Bowen; and more.

Christmas day, and DCI Tom Reynolds receives an alarming call. A mass grave has been discovered on Oileán na Caillte, the island which housed the controversial psychiatric institution St. Christina's. The hospital has been closed for decades, and onsite graves were tragically common. Reynolds thinks his adversarial boss is handing him a cold case to sideline him. But then it transpires another body has been discovered amongst the dead - one of the doctors who went missing from the hospital in mysterious circumstances 40 years ago.

This was the night train to Barcelona, some hours before the dawn. This was 1950, late September. I had left my husband. I had left my home. Katherine Proctor has dared to leave her family in Ireland and reach out for a new life. Determined to become an artist, she flees to Spain, where she meets Miguel, a passionate man who has fought for his own freedoms. They retreat to the quiet intensity of the mountains and begin to build a life together.

When Frank Woods at number 79 Primrose Square comes home to a surprise birthday party thrown by his wife and adoring children, it is his guests who get the real surprise. Finding himself alone, he befriends the cantankerous Miss Hardcastle, who hasn't left her home for decades, and Emily Dunne - fresh out of rehab and desperate to make amends. As gossip spreads through Primrose Square, every relationship is tested, and nothing in this close-knit community will ever be the same again....

When Liv Latimer says goodbye to her colleagues and finishes work for the holidays, she's looking forward to a Christmas to remember with her boyfriend Eddie. But before she makes it home, her phone rings, calling her back into work. And Liv is faced with a choice. Does she do as she's always done, and put herself second? Or, will she say no, so she can finally begin the life she's dreamed of? Liv's decision will turn her world upside down in ways she could never have imagined. Because whatever choice she makes, Liv is about to discover, fate finds a way...