Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Sean Tyrrell, Joni MItchell, Anne Briggs, Christy Moore, John Fahey, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Nick Drake, Tenacious D, Woody Guthrie, Andy Irvine, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Leadbelly, Hank Williams, Robert Johnson, Nic Jones ... too many obscure folk, trad and blues musicians to name ... the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Pogues, the Clash, Bob Marley, Steeleye Span, Johnny Moynihan, Planxty, Tony Bennett, Pasadena Roof Orchestra, Noel Coward ... my favourite album of 2008 was withiout a doubt Robert Plant and Alison Krauss's gorgeous Raising Sand ... I could go on for ever, so I'll stop.
Movies
My perennial favourites are probably the Cohen Brothers, with The Big Lebowski reigning as my all time favourite movie for quite a long time, now. I also really love Barton Fink, O Brother Where Art Thou and Fargo, and No Country for Old Men was a brilliant portrayal of a great novel. I love comedies - Will Ferrell has done some amazing work - as someone who works in the media a lot, Anchorman is just priceless. I like a lot of older stuff - Peckinpah, John Ford, the Marx Brothers, the old Flash Gordon serials. I'm actually something of a movie buff, so I can and do sit down and watch the work of the 'modern greats' - Scorsese, Kubrick, Coppolla, etc - but I'm just as likely to enjoy a stupid action movie as I am Apocolypse Now or the Godfather. As a child of the late '70s early '80s, I of course still love the original Star Wars trilogy I (don't get me started on the second). I was more than a little disappointed by the new Indiana Jones movie, but such is life. Films I've liked of late: Slumdog Millionaire; Son of Rambow; Seven Pounds. I hated Bride Wars and Mama Mia - in fact, Mama Mia left me kind of speechless in its awfulness. Maybe I'm not the target audience, though.
Television
The Sopranos, Deadwood, Lost, the original Star Trek, The Simpsons(of course), Rescue Me, South Park and whatever decent movie happens to be on.
Books
Way too many to mention, but here's what I'm into right now:
Edgar Rice Burroughs - I'm working my way through his John Carter of Mars Books (I'm really late coming to the fold on those, I'm embarrassed to say) and his Tarzan novels (nothing like any of the films you've ever seen); The Road by Cormac McCarthy; anything by John Connolly; the Spenser novels of Robert B Parker (can't get into his other stuff at all); anything by Torey Hayden - One Child was what got me working in child protection in the first place; Anthony Bourdain. I've just finished re-reading Alan Moore's Watchmen, and have been blown away all over again - can't wait for the movie - hope I won't be let down. I have to read a lot of stuff for the radio show, much of which is not all that interesting. I'm reading Little Dorrit, by Charles Dickens at the moment, and it is maybe one of the best things I've ever read. Wonderful stuff. If you haven't ever read Dickens, go out and buy one of his books - any of them - immediately!
If you’re here, you probably have some idea who I am already, and have possibly picked up – or maybe even read – one of my books. If so, thanks for taking the time to do so, and you’re very welcome.
If you’ve wandered in here accidentally, well I hope you like what you see, and choose to stay.
A little about me, then:
I’m a child protection worker by profession, but I’ve spent a good deal of my time teaching, too, training others to work with kids. I’m best known for a series of books I wrote detailing some of the cases I’ve worked, and some of the amazing children and families I’ve been lucky enough to encounter.
I write for the Irish Independent and Irish Examiner newspapers, and I also have a weekly column in the Wexford Echo, a local paper where I live, in the South East of Ireland.
I’m married to Deirdre Wickham, an amazing woman and a very talented childcare worker, too. Deirdre is wholly responsible for any success I might have experienced, and I’d be lost without her. I have two children, Richard and Marnie, who are both wonderful.
I actually do drive a 1981 Austin Allegro, as described in the books.
I also genuinely play quite a few instruments, and can sing pretty well. For anyone who is interested, my musical co-conspirator, Kevin McDermott, and I play most Wednesday nights in The Sky and the Ground pub, in Wexford town.
There is often confusion about precisely what my job title was, when I worked with children full time, and indeed what qualifications I had. To clear it up, here goes: firstly, I was not, and have never once claimed to be, a social worker. I have always clearly stated that I was a childcare worker, and worked, respectively, as a residential childcare worker, in children's homes, and as a community childcare worker, alongside social workers, as part of child protection teams. I also did youth work, and community arts work. In terms of my qualifications, I have a diploma in applied social studies, a Bachelor's degree in social care, and a Master's Degree in Sociology (I state this clearly in Hush Little Baby, in fact). For those who believe that social workers are the only people doing child protection work, I refer you to Wednesday's Child, which points out the complex system of workers which does exist out there, with Family Support Workers, Child Care Workers and Social Workers all operating alongside one another. I got my qualifications at Waterford Institute of Technology and National University of Ireland, Maynooth.
NEWS
May 2009: Will Mummy Be Coming Back for Me will be published at the end of May in the UK and further afield. Here's what my publishers have to say about it:
When childcare worker Shane Dunphy meets Jason in 1991, he is a tiny, frightened five-year-old who has stopped speaking and terrorizes even the older children in the care home with his angry, violent behaviour. Eleven years later, Shane is shocked to find Jason's file on his desk again. Jason has committed some horrendous crimes and is facing a life of incarceration. Can Shane rebuild what had been a delicate friendship, and help Jason to face up to who he is, where he has come from, and what he has done?
The Boy in the Cupboard will be published in Ireland in August 2009! Here's the blurb:
Three heart-stopping stories of children trapped by their parents' pasts ... Craig, the little boy who can't speak English, isn't allowed to use his real name and hides food around his playschool, afraid he'll be hungry again. His parents are trying to make a fresh start, but their gangland bosses are about to catch up with the family and Craig will pay a terrible price... Edgar is a twelve-year-old boy who nobody wants, not even the staff at the residential unit where he lives. Just when it seems that there might be a way of getting through to Edgar, his mother reveals a secret that changes everything ... Vinnie is a teenage boy who knows exactly what his gangster father is capable of, of how he makes problems disappear. He also knows that he had become a very big problem for his father ... ... One man's fight to give these children the future they deserve.
I'd also like to point out to any new readers that Last Ditch House and Crying in the Dark ARE BOTH THE SAME BOOK under different titles. This was a publishing decision that has caused some regrettable confusion, some of which I have been able to head off at the pass, but the vast majority of which I have not (I just read two comments from readers on Amazon who were quite upset about buying the same text twice with different packaging). To all those who have done this, I am really sorry.
Why not drop me a line and let me know what you think about any of the books? I'd love to hear from you.
Who I'd like to meet: I really hope this site will help me to meet people who are interested in my writing, but also in some of the other things that interest me - books in general, films, music ... all that stuff that helps to get us through the day!
Just wanted to say, thanks for sharing more space again!
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There is more on our other pages if ya didn't know, (the first pages on this page) feel free to request if you haven't yet and leave some heat if you like. Let us know what you think if you want to. Keep doing what you do and stay yourself, but you know this allready.
Regards,
Bugz B,J.Blaze and Kane D Goreson, from Winners n sinners.
We are all winners and sinners, the balance is now, The key is gratitude. No fear,no keeps.
hey there, i know it's impossible for you to remember all of the students you've had over the years, but i just really wanted to thank you and Deirdre and everyone else for all you taught me in CTI. Not just theory, but how to be passionate about a very important career. I've carried that with me through the social care course and any work i do with children, if only the WIT social care course was as practical as the childcare one in CTI!! Your books are amazing, i really enjoyed reading them. some of them remind me of lectures of yours actually.. before the books came along! so really just.. thanks, and keep up the excellent work. it makes a world of difference, to us and the people we work with
Hey just dropping by to let you know i'm playing in The Mezz bar next Sunday the 3rd and the next day Monday the 4th in Eamon Dorans Hope to see you there
Hey just wanted to say i just read your book The Boy In The Cupboard. It was such a great book my sister is studying to be a Social worker so it was great to read a book that helps me to understand what it will be like for her especially since we both came from a dysfunctional family it also makes you realise your not the only one out there that has been through alot and also shows that other people can have it much worse then yourself.. Looking forward to reading more books :) Kait
Hi Shane Thanks very much for your friendship request, and very kind comments. I guess we are both coming from the same place, and struggling to see improvement in the child protection system. Enjoy your weekend. Best wishes to you and your family Cathy
Hey U - looking smart on the t.v - well done ur quite the celeb these days and keeping it real. Didn't know sociology was ur thing, have really gotten into it over the past few years. So who are ur (sociology)guys?? "Sociology is like plumbing, it never gets looked at until things start to go wrong!!!" xxx well done, Roz
Hello Shane :) and our respect for your support and voice!
Welcome to our circle of friends :) and thank you for becoming an advocate for all children.
The helpless must be protected, and those with no voice of their own must be spoken up for. Those who prey on our children rely on SILENCE, and it must not be allowed to continue.
Thank you for adding your voice to ours, together the call will grow louder...AND WE WILL BREAK THE SILENCE.
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