Patrick McGinley is an Irish novelist. He has written eight acclaimed novels and a well-received memoir. His classic 1978 debut novel Bogmail was later adapted into a BBC three-part drama, Murder in Eden.
Patrick McGinley was born in Glencolumbkille. His Donegal childhood and boyhood are described in his memoir, That Unearthly Valley, published in 2011. McGinley was educated at Galway University. He spent several years teaching in Ireland before moving to London, where he pursued a career as a publisher and author.
Patrick McGinley debuted with Bogmail, a darkly comic tale of murder and extortion set in a small village on the picturesque northwest coast.
Bogmail received good reviews and was nominated for best mystery novel at the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Allan Poe Awards.
"Bogmail is not by any means my favorite among my novels — I prefer Foggage (1983) and The Trick of the Ga Bolga (1986) — but it is unique among them," the author says.
His other notable novels include Goosefoot (1982), Fox Prints (1983), The Red Men (1987), The Devil’s Diary (1988), and The Lost Soldier’s Song (1994).
Among his strongest literary influences is his Irish predecessor, author Flann O'Brien, whom McGinley emulates most noticeably in his novel The Devil's Diary.
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