By July 1981 four republican hunger strikers had already died in Long Kesh Prison. A fifth, Joe McDonnell, was clinging to life. To outsiders, Margaret Thatcher appeared unbending; yet, far from the prying eyes of the press, her government was making a substantial offer to the prisoners. This book is a sequel to the bestseller "Blanketmen".

A collection of stories that is set in Portobello, on the edge of Dublin city centre, just inside the canal. It reflects on characters on the edge of life, personalities that do not quite fit in: Michael, the country boy who drowns himself; Harry, the old Jewish dealer living alone; Liam, the crude emigrant returning to Ireland for a visit.

The practice of terror in revolutionary Ireland remains a highly controversial topic, which seldom receives balanced and dispassionate treatment. This collection of essays in memory of Peter Hart (1963-2010), illuminates the origins, forms and consequences of terror, whether perpetrated by republicans or government forces.