At dawn, in pouring rain on December 16th 1961 the army of the Irish Republic under a UN flag went into action. A sharp and bloody engagement followed, as the men of the 36th Battalion undertook a vital seize and hold operation. The objective was a railway tunnel, a crucial approach to Elizabethville held by mercenaries and Katangese Gendarmerie. Irishmen under Irish command under a United Nation’s mandate on foreign soil went on the offensive. Intensive fighting followed.

Sandra Phillips has been communicating with spirits since she was a child, but it wasn’t until she got older that she realised she had a unique gift.

This is a story about friendship, love and death. When her friend Kitty is in the final stages of motor neuron disease her deceased father appears to Sandra. He asks her to pass on a message of forgiveness to Kitty.

Sandra’s life is now in turmoil as she is encouraged both by Kitty and the spirits to use her gifts as a psychic and medium. She peels back the layers of her life and shares her development as a psychic with Kitty. As Sandra tells her incredible story Kitty makes her promise to write a book, so she can share her story with the world.

A Journey into the Light is the true story of Sandra’s life and her struggle to share her gift with the world.

To Live an active life means experiencing many emotions on your journey. While most of these emotions prove to be challenging they can, if taken on board as life's true lessons, be used to great personal benefit.

The lessons I have learned on my own life journey, I am now sharing with you.

Monica Loughman’s story is the enchanting tale of a 14-year-old girl leaving the comforts of home to train in a strict and austere Russian ballet school. She brought her dreams of becoming a professional ballerina with her. While many young ballerinas’ aspirations are unfulfilled, Loughman became a dancing sensation and was the first Western European to join Russia's distinguished Perm State Theatre of Opera and Ballet. 

At twenty-six, attractive, successful and fun-loving Kristin has everything she ever wanted: a gorgeous fiancé, a successful career and the wedding of her dreams just around the corner. When she’s offered the chance to head up a meeting with one of Dublin’s most successful advertising executives, it seems things can’t get any better for the blossoming bride-to-be.

A life-changing accident, however, throws her whole life out of kilter.

From James Tait Award and Longman History Award nominee, Lissa Oliver, comes a gripping horseracing thriller.

When top jockey Marcel Dessaint loses his racing licence, his whole world falls apart. Accused of deliberately pulling up healthy horses, Marcel is passed a verdict of ‘Gross Misconduct’ and forced to face the enmity of his peers. With a famous face and nowhere to hide in Chantilly, Marcel becomes an outcast in the only world he knows.

It’s nearly January and I have this idea for one of me New Years revolutions. I’m goin’ to write a diary! See, I’m about to turn 18 and as normal as ya think I might be– a regular fun lovin’, good lookin’ girl from Finglas on the northside of Dublin, me friends are anything but. Jasmin’s as smart as a scented candle, Concepta’s still pretendin’ to be on every diet goin’ and Tracy’s started to think she’s posh coz she goes to UCD. At least I still have me best mate Bernie.

On top of all of that, I’ve to deal with another bunch of weirdoes in me job and don’t even get me started on me family. Clearly I just do me best to get on with things by goin’ out with the girls, havin’ a few drinks and tryin’ to find a fella, although that hasn’t worked out very well lately!

Born without arms or legs due to Thalidomide, life could have turned out very differently. From growing up in a working class family during the Troubles of Northern Ireland, to the USA and back again, this story is of one woman’s determination to live life to the full.

Through support of family and friends, as well as sheer determination Leigh overcame prejudices, lived through the Troubles in Northern Ireland, escaped life with an alcoholic husband while raising two babies, only to find love again.

This is not the story of a “victim” but instead one of a woman who has learned and grown through the experiences life has thrown her way, has never let anyone steal her dreams and is still an activist working for dignity and respect for all people with disabilities.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman of a certain age must be in want of a man.

So when a prospective husband is sighted on the horizon, mothers, friends and the entire community rally round to be of service.

As the first tentative rumours of a male addition to the staff at Carrigmore National School hatch out from their shell, imaginations billow into overdrive and the busy wings of speculation begin to flap.

The idea that he is destined for one of their own takes root, and is nurtured, until it flowers into certainty. However, at times, even deep-rooted certainties can contain a degree of foolish pride.

In 2010, when the recession took root in Ireland, the young people looked at the ground they were standing on and realised it was rotten. Rotten in so many ways, but especially in the ways made by man. So most decided it was time to do what their forefathers had done during times of famine, when the ground was rotten too, and leave. For America. And Australia. And Canada.

But in the winter of 2010, a group of college students had a different idea. They weren’t going to leave. They would simply find a patch of land that hadn’t been contaminated and live off it. Just like their forefathers had always done before the land became rotten and the country corrupted by greed. This is their story.

What began as a harmless game for Lucinda Tidy ended with unexpected consequences, testing loyalties of a friendship she took for granted.

Lucinda can be generous and thoughtful yet equally corrupt. Her peculiar habit of keeping lists is a source of amusement to her friends, but the origins of her habit are deeper than routine. Behind her almost perfect façade lurks a story she has tried to deny.

Although he could well be described as a jack of all trades, Seán Ó’Foghlú is really a born soldier, and since the frosty morning in March 1960 when he signed his allegiance to the Defence Forces on the dotted line, he has served his country dutifully.

Though now retired and a member of the IUNVA (Irish UN Veterans’ Association), he is still a soldier at heart. In No White Feather, his debut book which has been a labour of love for many years, he recounts his years of military service in the Irish Army and his UN service in the Belgian Congo between 1960 and 1964 with a mixture of fondness, adventure and grief at the loss of many a fine young man.

In March 2008, a UN-mandated European military peacekeeping mission, EUFOR Chad/CAR, arrived deep into war-torn and impoverished Chad, the dead heart of Africa. Chad was caught up in the bitter and bloody conflicts raging across its border in the Darfur region of Sudan, and every day traumatised refugees streamed into the country seeking a respite from their woes. They came in their thousands, carrying their memories of horror and war with them.

The only book of its type in the known world.

Surprisingly, there are few books which deal with the delights of cinema-going. For those lucky enough, the ritual and romance of going to the cinema is a magical part of growing up. The total experience, the sights and sounds can stay in the memory for a long time. A good film is a good story well told. Now it can be told, even as the line between celluloid image and reality becomes blurred.

This book is a fond tribute to a great cinema in the heart of Tipperary's Lake District. It's a mix of history, nostalgia, and social commentary, with a bit of fiction thrown in for the finale. Although specific to location, this work will strike a chord with anyone who loved 'the pictures' as a child. Written for fun from a young lad's perspective, it's a happy book given that the author had a marvellous time growing up in small town Ireland in the fifties and sixties. 

Ten Fingers and Ten Toes is the moving story of how an ordinary family coped with the death of their youngest child.

Set in South County Dublin against the backdrop of Ireland’s Celtic Tiger, Yvonne Joye documents her deepest thoughts during the most difficult period of her life.

Caught up with the outward trappings of wealth and the pressures of modern life, Yvonne was determined to have it all: the perfect marriage, the perfect house, and the perfect family.

Joanne Kavanagh and best friend Suzie pack their bags and swap dreary, depressing Dublin for the cool Californian coast. Both are determined to start a new life in the land of opportunity, leaving behind the recession and their complicated families.

They make a pact at the airport to stick religiously to the ‘LA Commandments’, a list of ten ‘Thou Shalt Nots’ for their new life in LA, including ‘Thou Shall Not Fall in Love,’ but when Jo befriends sexy, shy musician Marc, and Suzie falls for womanizing bar-man Chris, not only are the commandments at risk of being broken, but also the girls’ hearts…

With all California has to offer —sunshine, shopping, killer nightlife, and drop-dead-gorgeous men, will the girls stay faithful to the LA Commandments?

Can one boy be guided by knowledge alone on a path of discovery?

‘The Memory of Trees’ is the story of Carlos, a shepherd boy, who travels from his beautiful home of Cyprus, following in the footsteps of Saint Paul, into the Middle East and along the road to Damascus. Carlos is a young island boy, bright, thoughtful and passionate, brought up on the traditions of his village elders. Experiencing unbearable loss and exile, he sets out on a journey of knowledge and adventure, embracing the spiritual wisdom of the trees and a quest to explore the path his mysterious uncle once took into the Middle East.

This is a parable about listening to the voices in our hearts, seeking our truths, no matter how lost we are. It is about daring to allow ourselves to be guided along a path filled with pain, loss, love and passion and the inevitable choices we must all face.