The Kavanagh Stories

A Hard Gemlike Flame, the fourth novel in the Kavanagh saga, is an unblinking adult tale of love, betrayal, truth, honesty, falsehood, deception and tragedy. What binds Mick Kavanagh and Cathleen Murray, what saves them, is passion in the face of a devious and nearly successful campaign to separate them. Only their strength in each other keeps them together--and sane.

In 2018, peace, possibly lasting, is getting far too close for the hardliners on both sides in Northern Ireland. Shooter in a Plague Year, the third in the Kavanagh saga, describes one possible outcome, a nightmare scenario that completes the gory chapters of the past. What happens if the moderates are eliminated? What happens if the New IRA and the shadowy Core Command square off in civil war?

Philly MC is the story of Jack Kavanagh, grandson of Danny Kavanagh of A Few Men Faithful, the first of the Kavanagh stories. Jack's twisted, tortured life is a battle between his IRA heritage and his father's decision to reject violence. This is the dark backdrop for the even darker motorcycle underground in Philadelphia during the 1960s and 70s. It's about survival but also qualified salvation.

A Few Men Faithul sets the stage, defines the Kavanagh family and tells of a troubled land and an equally troubled romance amid war and treachery. Time span: 1916 to 1924 in Dublin, County Cork and Northern Ireland. Major events: Easter Rising, Secret War, War of Independence, the Civil War. This last is little known and less explored, especially through the eyes of a soldier on the losing side.