Life moves forward, but its meaning often emerges in hindsight. In this luminous collection, Dermot Bolger captures those unexpected moments when past loves and choices resurface with startling clarity. These stories explore ageing, memory, and the lingering imprint of first encounters - how joy, loss, and betrayal echo across decades. 

A man searches for a secret half-sister to understand his father. A woman is haunted by a boy’s death fifty years ago. A lighthouse keeper recalls his first love. A public figure, slipping into dementia, relives one fateful night. From childhood holidays shadowed by tragedy to chance reunions that rewrite old narratives, Bolger’s characters wrestle with Yeats’s 'rag and bone shop of the heart', revealing the fragile beauty of human connection.

Review for previous collection:

"Bolger writes with great intuition about the secrets and lies that circulate beneath the surface of our everyday lives."

Review for previous collection: 

"Secrets Never Told is a taut collection of stories delivered with precision and poise."

Dermot Bolger is one of Ireland’s best-known writers across a range of genres. His fifteen novels include The Journey Home, The Family on Paradise Pier, New Town Soul, Tanglewood, The Lonely Sea and Sky and most recently, Hide Away. He is also an accomplished playwright and poet, with his most recent play, Last Orders at the Dockside, having a hugely successful sold-out run at the Abbey Theatre in 2019.