Dermot Bolger facts for kids

Dermot Bolger, born in 1959, is a well-known Irish writer from Dublin, Ireland. He grew up in the Finglas area of Dublin. His older sister, June Considine, is also a writer. Dermot Bolger is famous for writing many novels, plays, and poems. Some of his popular novels include Night Shift (1982), The Journey Home (1990), and The Family on Paradise Pier (2005). He is part of Aosdána, a special group for artists in Ireland.

Dermot Bolger's Writing Journey

Dermot Bolger's early stories often focused on characters from working-class areas of Dublin, like Finglas. These characters sometimes felt like outsiders. He also wrote a series of plays about life in the Ballymun tower blocks, which were tall buildings that have since been taken down.

Later, his novels explored bigger ideas and took place in different locations. For example, two of his novels, The Family on Paradise Pier and An Ark of Light, tell the story of a real Irish family called The Goold-Verschoyles. Some family members became interested in communism in the 1930s, which led to sad events. The first book covers their story until 1948. The second book, An Ark of Light, focuses on the daughter, Eva. She bravely chose a different path in 1950s Ireland, leaving a difficult marriage. Her journey of self-discovery took her from busy Moroccan streets to living in a caravan in her old age in Mayo, Ireland. Eva was a strong idealist who tried to find her own way while dealing with her children's lives.

Bolger's novel, The Lonely Sea and Sky, is based on a true story from wartime. It's about an unarmed Irish ship, The M.V. Kerlogue from Wexford, that rescued German sailors who had tried to sink them. Another novel, Tanglewood, explored what happened when the Irish economy faced big challenges. A famous writer, Colum McCann, called it a "superb novel" about the changes in the economy, marriages, and memories during that time.

Dermot Bolger also adapted James Joyce's famous novel, Ulysses, for the stage. It was first performed in Glasgow in 2012 and even toured to China in 2014. The Abbey Theatre in Dublin staged it in 2017 and again in 2018.

Starting Raven Arts Press

When Dermot Bolger was just 18 years old in 1977, he was working in a factory. But he had a big dream: he started his own publishing company called Raven Arts Press. This company helped many new writers get their first books published. Some of these writers later became very famous, like Patrick McCabe and Colm Toibin.

Raven Arts Press also published important books that shared difficult truths. One such book was Paddy Doyle's The God Squad (1988). This book bravely showed the harsh conditions some children faced in institutions run by religious caregivers. Another important book was Patrick Galvin's Song for a Raggy Boy (1991), which was later made into a movie in 2003. This story focused on a teacher who stood up against the verbal and physical abuse by the Christian Brothers in a reformatory school.

Dermot Bolger ran Raven Arts Press until 1992. Then, he helped start a new company called New Island Books with Edwin Higel. Their goal was to keep supporting new Irish writers. In 2022, New Island Books celebrated 30 years of publishing. They are known as a leading independent publisher of Irish fiction and non-fiction.

Since 1989, Bolger has also been an associate editor for the "New Irish Writing" page. This page, edited by Ciaran Carty, has been a place for new Irish writers to share their work in different newspapers. It continues a tradition that started in 1969. Today, you can find this page in the Irish Independent newspaper.

In May 2022, Dermot Bolger received a special honorary doctorate in literature from the National University of Ireland. This is a big honor that recognizes his important contributions to literature.

Dermot Bolger's Books

Dermot Bolger has written many different kinds of books. Here are some of his most notable novels:

Exploring His Novels

• Night Shift (1985): This was Bolger's very first novel. It tells the story of Donal, a young man from Finglas who works the night shift at a factory. Donal's girlfriend, Elizabeth, is expecting a baby, and they live in a caravan. Donal works hard to make a better life for them.

• The Journey Home (1990): This book was very popular and caused some discussion when it first came out in Ireland. It was later published in the United States and even got a main review on the front cover of The New York Times Book Review section. The Irish Times newspaper said it showed a lot about life in the 1990s, including some tough topics that were shocking at the time.

• The Family on Paradise Pier (2005): This novel begins in a peaceful village in County Donegal in 1915. It follows an Irish family through many important historical events, like the Irish War of Independence, the General Strike in Britain, and the Spanish Civil War. The Goold-Verschoyle children grow up in a respected Protestant family, where their home is full of laughter and interesting discussions. But soon, big political changes in Ireland and around the world start to affect their lives. This family saga is based on real people. For example, the character Brendan is based on Brian Goold-Verschoyle, who sadly died in a Soviet gulag. The character Art is based on Neil Goold-Verschoyle, a real Irish communist. The character She is based on Sheila Fitzgerald (born Goold-Verschoyle), whose tape recordings from 1992 helped inspire the novel.

Other Novels by Dermot Bolger

• 1987 and 1991: The Woman’s Daughter
• 1992: Emily’s Shoes
• 1994: A Second Life
• 1997: Father's Music
• 2000: Temptation
• 2007: The Valparaiso Voyage
• 2010: New Town Soul
• 2012: The Fall of Ireland
• 2015: Tanglewood
• 2016: The Lonely Sea and Sky (a story about growing up, based on a wartime rescue by the Irish ship, The MV Kerlogue)
• 2018: An Ark of Light (This book continues the story of Eva Fitzgerald, a main character from The Family on Paradise Pier.)
• 2020: Secrets Never Told. This is Bolger's first collection of short stories. His publishers described them as stories that look beneath the surface of our lives, exploring the secrets that connect or break relationships. Many of these stories were first heard on BBC Radio 4.
• 2024: Hide Away. This novel is set in a psychiatric hospital in Dublin in 1941. It explores the lasting effects of difficult experiences on patients who were involved in violence when they were very young during the War of Independence and the Irish Civil War.

Dermot Bolger's Plays

Dermot Bolger is also a very active playwright. He has written many plays that have been performed on stage.

• 1989: The Lament for Arthur Cleary
• 1990: Blinded by the Light
• 1990: In High Germany (This play is part of a series about three friends who emigrate, along with The Parting Glass and Home, Boys, Home.)
• 1990: The Holy Ground
• 1991: One Last White Horse
• 1994: A Dublin Bloom
• 1995: April Bright
• 1999: The Passion of Jerome
• 2000: Consenting Adults
• 2004: A Dublin Bloom (full production in Chicago)
• 2005: From these Green Heights
• 2006: The Townlands of Brazil
• 2007: Walking the Road
• 2008: The Consequences of Lightning
• 2010: The Parting Glass (This play continues the story of Eoin, a character from In High Germany, 20 years later.)
• 2012: Tea Chests and Dreams
• 2012: Ulysses: a stage adaptation of James Joyce's novel (Performed by the Tron Theatre, Glasgow, and toured Scotland and China)
• 2017: Ulysses: a revised and expanded stage adaption of Joyce's novel (Premiered at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in October 2017)
• 2017: Bang Bang
• 2019: Last Orders at the Dockside (Staged by the Abbey Theatre)
• 2020: A Hand of Jacks (A monologue commissioned by the Abbey Theatre as part of a national response to the coronavirus, performed by Dawn Bradfield)
• 2021: The Messenger (A one-woman play about the North Strand bombings in Dublin in 1941, streamed online by Axis, Ballymun)
• 2024: Home, Boys, Home (This play is the final part of a series of three plays. It follows the lives of three young Dubliners who left Ireland in 1988. The play shows them returning to a very changed Ireland in 2024, using the diverse Irish football team as a way to talk about how Irish identity has changed.)

Dermot Bolger's Poetry Collections

Dermot Bolger has also published several collections of his poems:

• 1980: The Habit of Flesh
• 1981: Finglas Lilies
• 1982: No Waiting America
• 1986: Internal Exiles
• 1989: Leinster Street Ghosts
• 1998: Taking my Letters Back
• 2004: The Chosen Moment
• 2008: External Affairs
• 2012: The Venice Suite: A Voyage Through Loss
• 2015: That Which is Suddenly Precious: New & Selected Poems
• 2022: Other People's Lives