Gary J Byrnes

About me:

PURE MAD, probably the best Irish crime thriller ever written, is now on sale on www.amazon.com!



Currently reading:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.

Just finished:

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. Pretty good thriller, with some reservations. Far superior to the movie, which was preety good.

Recently read:
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. This is an absolutely amazing sci-fi space war epic, which I can't recommend too highly. So well-written, so imaginative, great characters. Currently being made into a film by Ridley Scott. Niiice!

Also, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, which was a bit slow to begin with "Just blow the damn bridge, man!" and the flowery language was a tad offputting. But the end, the very end, is excellent. Now I get the Hemingway hype.

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Amazing and inspiring read. That closing Frobisher section - bliss!

Technicolour Time Machine by Harry Harrison, great craic altogether.

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. A good read, totally bonkers, very eighteenth century, though.

House of Meetings by Martin Amis, one of my favourite writers, but this Gulag story was just a little too grim.


A writer of crime thrillers, I was represented by Pollinger until March '08 and am now seeking a new literary agent.

Currently working on a crime thriller set in Dublin, Ireland about a disillusioned cop who links up with a vigilante cell.

I live in Dublin, Ireland which will be great when it's finished. Given the unfolding economic meltdown of Ireland Inc., it might never be. I think the world's a confused place, but those sweet seconds of sublime pleasure kind of make up for all the crap.

My ambition is to write the definitive twenty-first century thriller.

Check out some of my short films at www.youtube.com/garyjbyrnes

Some experiences:
Nominated for Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger for my first crime thriller, PURE MAD (2005).

Stand-up comedy in the International Bar, Dublin.

Extra in a crime thriller, Headrush. I was a uniformed cop. Very weird experience.

Edited and published Ireland's coolest pop culture magazine, SixMag. I interviewed people like rugby hero Brian O'Driscoll, funniest living Irishman Tommy Tiernan and Body Shop founder Anita Roddick.

Served in the Irish Army Reserve (then called FCA, Free Clothes Association or Fools Carrying Arms) for five years, air defence unit. No missiles but WW2-era Bofors guns. Good craic.

Worked in New York in the late 80s. Top steakhouse, Gallagher's on 52nd and Broadway. Had to leave as I just couldn't say no and the party culture and super steaks had me on a slippery slope to partying-fuelled obesity.

Worked in London, in a WPP-owned retail design company, WalkerGroup/CNI. Happy times.

Played rugby in Limerick during my teens, mainly as second row.

Harp on the Hill of Tara. The Irish Government's gone nuts and is building a motorway through Ireland's most historic valley, beside the Hill of Tara! The European Commission is taking Ireland to court, but road construction continues. SOS! Check out this movie!