The Confession of Peadar Gibbons

Lorna Cuddy was used to getting feature story suggestions from her dad back home. Most centred on five-legged donkeys or the dangers of fairy forts. However, none fascinated the Pulitzer-winning, Irish-born writer, as much as this one. This time, he was part of the story. And so was she.

Her dad's childhood friend Peadar Gibbons, had, on his fiftieth birthday, walked into his local Garda police station in a west of Ireland town, saying he had some things to get off his chest. But Peadar was deemed 'harmless', a man who had lived on the fringes of society; extra-average. Just another solitary life in a small town.

It was a Sunday evening. A quiet one. And tea-time in the police station. Not a time for big confessions. So the officer sent him home with the advice to 'write it all down.' After all, Peadar liked writing short stories, and had penned 'posh poems that didn't rhyme'.

Taking down his Remington typewriter and punching out fifty chapters of a life less ordinary, Peadar would later present the Gardai with what they described as the 'most elaborate document of admission the force had ever receive.' Written with a frankness befitting a man who wanted to be unburdened; to be noticed though not stared at; to be talked of, not talked about.

Struggling to find his way in a changing Ireland; not good enough to deserve a decent chance at home. Not confident enough to try his luck overseas. Stuck in a life of horror, incidents, and consequences.

Left with nothing but his confession.

Declan Varley is a stunning new voice in the great tradition of Irish literary fiction. Born in 1965, he grew up in the small town of Ballinrobe in County Mayo, Ireland. In his teens, Declan began his career in writing when he established a weekly magazine with a group of friends. That publication gave Declan the motivation he needed to use words as his trade, writing the college subculture novel Kittyland in 1992, followed by Sure It Could Happen (1993) The Elephant's Graveyard, (1994) and Nightmusic (2001). A successful career in journalism followed, writing award winning stories for regional, national, and international newspapers. He is currently Group Editor of Galway Advertiser Newspapers. Declan lives in Galway with his wife, Galway Bay fm Head of News Bernadette Prendergast and their daughter, Giselle.