Dark: Cillian Murphy: 'One of the greatest Irish writers’

<p><b>With a new foreword by Colin Walsh, this is ''one of the most volatile, vital and unsafe novels in Irish literature'', banned by the censor for obscenity in 1965 - and just as explosive today.</b><br><br><i>He was coming and there was nothing to do but wait and grow hard as stone and lie.</i><br><br>Mahoney grows up in fear of his father: of his beatings with the heavy leather strap; of the nights he wants love. Seeking to escape the claustrophobic family farm, he contemplates a future in the priesthood, but battles with his tortured conscience amidst adolescent lusts. After winning a scholarship, he takes a stand against the household''s toxic violence - and begins a journey towards an understanding that may mean peace.<br><br>''A master.'' <b>Kevin Barry</b><br>''Timeless.'' <b>Sinéad Gleeson</b><br>''Extraordinary.'' <b>Colin Walsh</b><br>‘Blew me away.’ <b>Colin Barrett</b><br>''A great writer.'' <b>Sebastian Barry</b><br>''Exquisite.'' <b>Andrew Michael Hurley</b><br>''Elegiac and graceful.'' <b>David Mitchell</b><br>''One of the greatest writers of our era.''<b> Hilary Mantel<br></b>''The Irish novelist everyone should read.'' <b>Colm Tóibín</b><br>‘The preeminent Irish writer of his generation.’ <b>Anne Enright</b><br>''I’m grateful for every sentence he left in this world.'' <b>Donal Ryan</b><br>''One reads McGahern for the textures of time and space, through which each of us travels, often alone.'' <b>Yiyun Li</b></p>

Book details

• Publication date: 30 July 2026
• Page count: 208
• Dimensions: Height 196 mm; Width 129 mm; Thickness 15 mm
• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Format: Paperback
• ISBN-13: 9780571399505