Tell me about your debut novel In Plain Sight.
It’s a crime thriller based in Dublin with a couple of twists along the way. Darcy Doyle is a rookie in the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and she’s paired up with the once brilliant and now weather-beaten Mick Kelly. There’s a serial killer on the Dublin streets, but meanwhile, as they try to catch the killer, Darcy’s own secretive past is catching up with her.
At the book’s core are two very different characters - the keen but green Darcy Doyle and the somewhat jaded and cynical Mick Kelly. Why do you think they work as a duo?
They don’t realise it at first, but they both need each other. Darcy has experienced childhood trauma, but she can’t show any vulnerability in her work as a detective. This is detrimental to her personal relationships. Her job is her prop. Mick’s crutch is the drink.
In the 1990s you came close to having a feature film made with David Anspaugh, who directed Gene Hackman in Hoosiers. Tell us a little about the story and how the experience ultimately stalled your writing?
My wife found my 20-year-old screenplay in a box in the attic (I know that sounds made up!). It was a coming-of-age film called Stuck on Orange about four lads in Dublin who risk everything to improve their lives. I suppose, looking back, being so close to such big success when I lived in California, which ultimately got shelved, turned me away from writing for quite some time. Thankfully, after finding the script, my wife encouraged me back to putting pen to paper once again. To fail, fail again and fail better.
If your book were to be adapted for film, who would play Darcy and Mick?
Dream casting would be Saoirse Ronan and Colin Farrell - minus the penguin suit.
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You spent years working on a kibbutz. Have you considered writing about that experience? What do you make of Israel/Palestine today?
My heart is broken for the people of the region, particularly the children of Gaza who are experiencing generational trauma. An Israeli friend’s brother is still being held hostage today. It makes me realise how lucky we are to have had peace on our island for the last three decades. If anything, that still gives me hope.
Your family has been living in Tallaght in Dublin for more than 100 years, and the city and its more marginalised are central to the novel. Did you draw on your own experience in writing the book?
I had a very fortunate upbringing in Tallaght with two hardworking parents and a loving and supportive family and community, so fortunately, I haven’t had any of the kinds of experiences that befalls Darcy. Reading books by investigative journalists such as Paul Williams, Nicola Tallant, Paul Reynolds and Pat Marry helped me gain vital procedural knowledge of the crime world.
Irish crime titles seem to be enjoying phenomenal popularity. Why do you think that is? What drew you to the genre?
We see so much inequality and transgression in everyday life that crime fiction, and indeed other genres, can bring us something we don’t often see in reality - justice. The crime is solved, redemption is meted out and the killer is rightly punished.
You left Ireland in the 1990s and lived in France, Israel and California before returning home. How has Ireland changed?
We’re a more confident people than we once were, more self-aware, and we take pride in who we are, but I think we’ve managed to retain our unique blend of social righteousness and having the craic.
You are the co-founder and director of Gifts.ie. Is there a link between entrepreneurship and creativity?
You most definitely need to be creative when building a business and not be averse to taking risks. There’s more cognitive liberty when writing, though, but the financial rewards are not as good! Well, not yet - maybe if the movie comes off!
Which projects are you working on?
Reported Missing, book two of the Darcy Doyle series is with the editor and is due to appear in 2026, and book three is about to go off to Poolbeg Press for their initial… let’s call it “appraisal”.
Have you ever made a literary pilgrimage?
I once went to London in my early 20s to visit 221b Baker Street, fictional home of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. I still have the photo!
What is the best writing advice you have heard?
Read Stephen King’s book – On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.
Who do you admire the most?
My wife. (I know, I know!)
You are supreme ruler for a day. Which law do you pass or abolish?
That all children become the number one priority for every government – their education and their wellbeing.
Which current book, film and podcast would you recommend?
Colm Tóibín – Long Island (if you’ve already read Brooklyn)
Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning
The Rich Roll Podcast
The most remarkable place you have visited?
Jerusalem.
Your most treasured possession?
My Dad’s radio.
What is the most beautiful book that you own?
A first edition of The Borstal Boy.
The best and worst things about where you live?
The best things are the location, the community, nearby family, and the view of the Dublin Mountains. The worst is like everywhere in Dublin: traffic.
What is your favourite quotation?
Motivation follows action. Always.
Who is your favourite fictional character?
Too many, but Lisbeth Salander popped into my head first.
A book to make me laugh?
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.
A book that might move me to tears?
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
