About the Author

I write historical novels based on real events in 18th century Ireland. My apprenticeship in writing commenced at University College Dublin where I edited an engineering magazine, The Anvil. Afflicted with wanderlust, I travelled west to Ohio State and MIT to continue my studies to master's and doctoral level. While in Boston, my interest in history unfolded through participation in the Committee for Justice in Northern Ireland and in the anti-Vietnam war movement. On return to Ireland, I honed my writing skills, publishing scientific papers as well as writing on food-related issues in the popular media. Following a career in Biosystems Engineering at UCD, I revisited my historical interest by studying "The genealogy of the Anglo-Norman Lynches who settled in Galway." The consequent discovery of a treasure-trove of forgotten Irish stories inspired me to write Spellbound by Sibella, a finalist in the 2012 William Faulkner Novel Competition.

My debut novel deals with the turbulent romance between Irish beauty, Sibella Cottle and the rakish Sir Harry Lynch-Blosse of Mayo. Critiques from a writer's group, The Corner Table, of which I am a founding member, guide my writing. I am at an advanced stage in my second novel, The Abduction of Anne O'Donel, a finalist in the 2012 William Faulkner Novel-in-Progress Competition. My third novel, The Bloody Bodkins, is at an earlier stage of development. It explores the possibility that a man may have been hanged for a crime he did not commit. I live in Dublin with my wife, Treasa Ní Chonaola. We have three children, Dara, Nora and Meabh, and a grandchild, Lily Marie. I derive inspiration from the wild splendour of Mayo and Connemara. My website address is: http: //paul-mcnulty.com/