INTRODUCING IRELAND'S NEW NON-FICTION AUTHOR

Winner Philip Bray with Ryan Tubridy

Following an enormous response to the The Tubridy Show / Gill & Macmillan True Story Competition on RTÉ Radio 1, a fascinating story has been revealed.

Over the last two weeks almost two thousand entrants have confirmed the remarkable array of stories that make up the right fabric of Irish society; stories that offered an insight in to our past, and hope and redemption for our future.

Philip Bray from Co. Limerick, whose story of the horrendous, violent and sometimes humorous world of life in the prison service was chosen as the unanimous winner.

Philip joined the service in 1977, working in Limerick Prison. At the time prisons were places where pillows, blankets and even food were scarce. Most prisoners were illiterate and luxuries such as television and books were unheard of.

Philip's story of the incredible changes in the prison service charts Ireland's first female high-security prison in Limerick, a place where wealthy Englishwoman-come-IRA-operative, Rose Dugdale's pregnancy went unnoticed, while Limerick Prison's cells were filled with leading Republican figures, and later, notorious feuding Limerick families and the 'Dublin Mafia' whose imprisonment fuelled a protest in which 15 prisoners slit their throats.

Sarah Liddy, Commissioning Editor, Gill & Macmillan said: 'Philip's story stood out as being insightful, honest and intriguing. This fascinating career offers us an insight in to a side of life that few of us ever experience'                   

Philip offers a bridge between the Ireland of yesterday and the Ireland of today in this intriguing account of life in the prison service in one of the most turbulent eras in recent history.

'When I first heard about this competition I did not think that my life could be interesting enough to warrant a book, but as I thought about it I realised that I was in a unique position to shine a ray of light on a dark and secret corner of Irish life. The many fascinating people - both staff and inmates - I met over the years helped me chart the changes from Dickensean conditions to what they are today'
Winner, Philip Bray

Philip's story will be published by Gill & Macmillan in Autumn 2008