Ciarán McMenamin

Latest publication THE SUNKEN ROAD - Harvill Secker - February 2021

Francie, Archie and Annie grew up playing together in the hills and rivers of Fermanagh. But in 1914, the boys are seduced by the drama of the war in Europe and leave the village to join up. Before they leave, Francie swears to Annie that he'll keep her little brother safe.

Six years later Francie is hiding out in the barn of Annie's house. He hasn't seen her since that day. He's on the run, a wanted man in the war for independence that is still igniting along the border. And the British officer who is obsessively pursuing him is his old commander from the Western Front. To reach safety Francie will need Annie's help getting over the border, and that means he'll have to confront the truth about why Archie never came back.

Powerfully gripping, Ciaran McMenamin's accomplished novel explores loyalty, love, heroism and the heartbreaking cost of violence.

Praise for THE SUNKEN ROAD

'Ambitious and powerful … In a stirring novel broad in location and historical sweep, McMenamin marshals his materials skilfully, with the time-shifts between the Western Front and the War of Independence captured in alternating chapters that easily sustain the reader’s attention. The characterisations are superbly drawn in all of their complexity … What really distinguishes the novel is the deep examination of the ambiguities and ironies of the uniquely Irish political situation as it intersected with the cataclysm of the Great War … McMenamin is writing within a tradition that includes O’Connor, Liam O’Flaherty, Sebastian Barry and Frank McGuinness, to name but a distinguished few. Paramount in this tradition is the need to expose the big lies, to challenge mainstream interpretations, to help us to see the conflict with fresh eyes — and on all of these counts, McMenamin’s ambitious novel scores big.' Sunday Times

'Ciarán McMenamin confirms his exceptional talent with this admirably powerful and authentic novel about the First World War and the struggle for Irish independence. A tremendous follow-up to the brilliant Skintown.' William Boyd

'A masterful depiction of the human cost of war. It reveals how even in the worst of horrors, and against all odds, love can survive. McMenamin writes with a passionate intensity.' David Park 

'Excellent, gripping ... a powerful reflection on complex loyalties, divisions and identities, a romantic drama and a page-turning thriller.' Eoghan Smith, Irish Times

'There is a smooth grace to his prose, and, though it’s an historical novel, it’s written in a modern style, jumping between past and present timelines in a way that feels immediate and filmic. Both pace and tension are maintained throughout ... The tension between the compulsions of history and circumstance, and personal moral choice, are played out compellingly, giving what happens the sense of inevitability that haunts all tragedy.' Eilis O’Hanlon, Irish Independent

'It’s gorgeously written, it’s cracking, it runs along with great vivid passages.' Rick O’Shea, RTE, Top Picks for 2021

'A violent and tender story where memorable characters battle love, loyalty and the terrible truths of war.' Eithne Farry, Daily Mail

Praise for SKINTOWN

'A supercharged riot of a debut novel, zinging with confidence and intelligence.' Joseph O'Connor

'Ciaran McMenamin writes brilliantly. His characters are achingly vivid and entirely credible and the pacing is Olympian. Horrifying and hilarious, Skintown is a compulsive read.' Liz Nugent

'McMenamin writes with verve and honesty. . . it lures the reader into the madcap night and then delivers a hairpin twist.' Sarah Gilmartin The Irish Times

'Exhilarating. . . . A TNT-powered head-rush of a novel soaked in the smell of burning tyres and set to the MDMA beat of 1990s rave culture. . . . Vinny is a hugely witty companion.' Metro

'I read the first page of this and was immediately hooked. It's rattlingly written, hugely immersive, funny too. Adored it.' Rick O'Shea Rick O'Shea Book Club

'Skintown is a sometimes hilarious, often frightening, supercharged riot of a debut novel, zinging with confidence and intelligence and oddly touching too. I found it superbly compelling and hard to put down.' Joseph O'Connor

'Scurrilous, saucy, turbo-powered, unputdownable, such is Skintown, the novel that tells you everything you ever wanted to know about Enniskillen (and County Fermanagh for that matter) but were afraid to ask.  Highly recommended - though bigots of all persuasions should give this book a very wide berth as they will not find it to their liking.' Carlo Gebler

'If you loved The Glorious Heresies and are looking for the next terrific Irish author, here be Ciaran Mc Menamin with Skintown. Imagine a cross between Trainspotting and Douglas Copeland, channeled throughout a wonderful Irish perspective and sprinkled with a warm enveloping humour and compassion, it is that good.' Ken Bruen

'Written in sharp, tight sentences. It is punchy, funny, masculine.' Sunday Times

'Ciaran writes brilliantly. His characters are achingly vivid and entirely credible and the pacing is Olympian. Horrifying and hilarious, it is a compulsive read about how the virus of the Troubles in the North infected hearts and heads, communities and country.' Liz Nugent

'A ribald, wise-cracking joyride through young lives lit up by clubs, drugs and ecstatic love. Skintown sings of escape, and the loyalty to music and rapture over the politics of hate.' Rob Doyle

'A TNT-powered head-rush of a novel… Vinny is a hugely witting companion, with a sharp awareness.' Metro

'Skintown is not for the faint-hearted. McMenamin delivers truths with the speed of flying bullets and the impact leaves you wounded. At the same time, the hilarity of the novel keeps you hurtling onward, racing to the end. This is an absolute page-turner and an impressive burst out of the traps for first-timer Ciaran McMenamin.' RTE, Ireland

'McMenamin writes with verve and honesty, vividly recreating an endless night at a rave… Where McMenamin excels is in the dynamic aspect of his writing. It lures the reader into the madcap night and then delivers a hairpin twist just as the bender seems endless.' Irish Times

'Skintown is held together by the sort of anger and passion that only a first novelist can muster. It makes for a rocky but entertaining ride. In its energetic way, Skintown tells an old-fashioned coming-of-age story… His narrative voice is all fireworks, all the time. McMenamin writes the sort of prose that grabs you by the lapels and shouts in your face.' Sunday Business Post