Description "A book written sparingly, with wit and without sentimentality, yet the effect can be like poetry . . . An exceptional novel." Guardian
"In J. M. O'Neill the London Irish may have produced their laureate." Observer
"Not a single word out of place . . . Every word of it rings true." Daily Telegraph
"The atmosphere is indescribable but absolutely right: as if the world of Samuel Beckett had crossed with that of George V.Higgins." Observer
"O'Neill's characters are as stylish as his settings . . . Duffy Is Dead is sly genius and humour black as stout." The Irish Times
Author J. M. O'Neill was born in Limerick, where his father was the city's postmaster, and educated at the Augustinian College, Dungarvan, County Waterford.
His plays include Now You See Him, Now You Don't, Diehards, and God Is Dead on the Ball's Pond Road. His first novels, Open Cut (1986) and Duffy Is Dead (1987) were hailed as truly original works, earning him the accolade of being "the laureate of the London Irish".
These first two novels were followed by Canon Bang Bang (1989) and Commissar Connell (1992). He moved to live in Kilkee, County Clare, where he completed his two last novels, Bennett & Company (1998) and Rellighan, Undertaker (1999).
"A hard and squalid world depicted economically and evocatively . . . the tension in the slang-spotted dialogue and the mean prose creates effective atmosphere." Hampstead & Highgate Express
