author
T. Phelan
Raised on a small farm in County Laois, this Irish novelist came to publishing later than most and turned that lived experience into fiction and memoir full of memory, hardship, and wit. His books often draw on rural Ireland, family life, and the long shadows of history.
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About the author
Born and raised in Mountmellick, County Laois, Ireland, Tom Phelan grew up on a farm in the Irish midlands. That background became a deep source for his writing, especially his evocations of country life, family bonds, and the demands of work in an earlier Ireland.
He published his first novel, In the Season of the Daisies, after turning fifty, and went on to write novels including Iscariot, Derrycloney, The Canal Bridge, and Lies the Mushroom Pickers Told. His memoir, We Were Rich and We Didn’t Know It, looks back on his boyhood in 1940s rural Ireland with warmth and sharp detail.
Phelan has also written for newspapers and literary outlets, and his work has been recognized with writer residencies including one at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco. He later made his home in New York, while continuing to write about Ireland with affection, honesty, and a strong sense of place.