Wild Shamrock

About the Book

This is a coming of age story written with pace and insight about the world of an Irish teenager cast adrift in England. Murphy’s novel is picaresque, with the sometimes bewildering incidents taking the reader along on the disjointed ride of the main character through his wandering squandering life. And then he hits Borstal.

About the Author

Peter Paul Murphy was born into a family of four sisters and three brothers in the Dubin suburb of Drimnagh on June 29 1942 the feast of SS Peter and Paul. When the great event happened his father said: 'I was running out of names...he won't be any trouble he even brought his name with him'. Peter began his academic education in the nearby national school and finished in Westland Row CBS in 1958. His father passed away in 1960 and Peter emigrated to England ostensibly to look for work but as he readily admits he also wanted adventure. He spent some time in a Borstal Institution where he studied mechanical engineering and furthered his interest in the English Language. He returned to Dublin on his release and worked at a variety of manual jobs traveling to and from England, as he says: 'suffering the oppression and squandering my allotted time'. He acheived some financial security and purchased a public house in Dublin which he lost in dubious circumstances. This led to the reason for his writings. When education became freely available in Ireland about 1995 he completed a legal studies course and then a computer course in the evenings at Crumlin College of further education and: 'this is a release from the oppression'.

Peter is interested in Human Rights in Ireland through Democracy, Glasnost and Equality. He lives nearby where he was born.