Brian O'Sullivan's Blog

One of the things I love about Ireland is how the thin film of that present we inhabit is so often perforated by the reality of previous millennia.

Many people believe that time travels in a linear fashion from past to present to future but of course that conceptual model doesn’t work in reality. The truth is that the past informs and affects everything we do in the present (and hence in the future). It’s physical, but sometimes intangible, and yet inescapable in all its forms.

We’ve had many contemporary examples of such temporary intrusions over the years, with the ongoing discovery of gold hoards and bog butter, the unearthing of new passage graves and henges at Brú Na Bóinne and, more interestingly, this find on the banks of the river Boyne from several years back. Needless to say, the finds have continued since then.

Despite all the crap going on in the world at the moment, we do truly live in fascinating times.

A representation from illustrator Arthur Rackam of Liath Luachra teaching Demne (the young Fionn) at a very early age.

This is actually a visual representation of a scene from Macgnímartha Finn that I nicked for one of my own works (FIONN: Traitor of Dun Baoiscne) where Liath Luachra and the young Fionn chase other around a tree with a switch.

You have to love the matching outfits, though.

Liath Luachra ag iarraidh ceann na naimhde nua a chur di.
[Liath Luachra attempting to fight off one of her new enemies]

I’ve been playing around with visuals to develop na naimhde nua – the new enemies – in my head and I’m very satisfied with the result.

Its an effective and culturally satisfactory adaptation of the ancient Irish source with substantial visual and character impact.

More on that in 2026.

[Note: “The Quiet One” is the follow up to the unexpecetdly popular “Liath Luachra: The Great Wild”]

Inspector Collins searching for clues to a murder (or maybe not) on the Beara coast – all part of the next book in the Beara Series

The latest edition of Vóg – the monthly Irish Imbas newsletter – is now available with updates on this and other projects. The link can be found HERE.

This was a variant cover image for the first “Irish Imbas Celtic Mythology Collection” book that we released back in 2016. To be honest, I quite liked this – more contemporary – version of the ‘Children of Lir’ at the time, but was convinced by the artist, and others, to go with the alternative (which remains the official cover to this day).

OK. OK. In hindsight, I admit poor oul Fionnuala comes across as a bit of a coke-snorting socialite having a bad trip with the Lir swans. Probably not the look I was going for.

Although, it’s actually not a bad idea for a story …

Looking out from one the caves at Céis Chorainn, a major site of ancient irish stories I visited a few back.

No sign of Fionn, no sign of Cormac.
I did find a broken pen, though.

FIONN: The Stalking Silence was the short story that initiated the subsequent Fionn mac Cumhaill Series (and, then, the Liath Luachra books).

About nine years ago, having completed the large project that was ‘BEARA: Dark Legends’, I was keen to try something very different. Little did I know at the time, this would end up spreading to six FIONN books and almost the same number of LIATH LUACHRA novels.

I’m still very fond of the original story and its available for free at most ebookstores so that anyone interested in this type of story can get a ‘taste’ of my work to see whether they like it or not.

At this stage, my take on the Fenian narratives is slowly drawing to a close with one book remaining in the FIONN series (although there’s still at least three more books left on LIATH LUACHRA). I have to admit that after all these years, its nice to see the project reaching the point of completion I’d envisaged.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh!

You can find a link to a free copy of FIONN: The Stalking Silence HERE.

Muiris (MoS) O’Súilleabháin is back, investigating mythology-realated deaths on the Beara Peninsula.

This is the long awaited follow-up to our bestselling BEARA: Dark Legends. I’m working hard to complete the first part of this book for Christmas.

You can find more details HERE.

The woman warrior Liath Luachra gets her first indication of the dangers and anguish to come in ‘FIONN: Defence of Rath Bladhma‘ – the first in the ‘Fionn mac Cumhaill Series’ of books.

The following is the initial short scene (very short) for FIONN: The Stalking Silence

An exhausted, and heavily pregnant Muirne Múncháem – Muirne of the Slender Neck – makes a hard journey across the Great Wild to the safety of her cousin’s settlement.

Little does she know of the trials that await her.