Official Website of Author
About the Book:
Historical novel about two Irish naval heroes who won great battle victories for their adopted homelands and helped them achieve national independence. Commodore John Barry from Co. Wexford was a Philadelphia-based merchant ship captain when The Boston Tea Party ignited the American Revolutionary War. He joined the Continental Navy and became their ‘Top Gun’ commander. President George Washington awarded Navy commission number one to Barry for his trojan work creating the New US Navy. Admiral William Brown from Co. Mayo got embroiled in the Liberation of South America, after Spanish ships harassed his Buenos Aires merchant fleet. He founded the Argentine Navy from scratch and won the decisive naval battles against Spain and Brazil that led to the establishment of the Republic of Argentina.
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Heartwarming story of the lives and naval careers of these master mariner patriots – sons of Ireland.
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News From The Author:
My Story
Dear Reader -- Welcome to the world of Michael Gerard. I am an Irishman by birth (who now resides in America), born in County Mayo on the West Coast of Ireland and like so many Irish throughout the ages, I was inclined to roam. Even for high school I bused to another town, then my college years were split between Galway and Cork, and as I embarked on my working life my first job was in Limerick. That job was followed by career changes and stints living in Cork and Dublin. I set my sights early on America but for obvious financial reasons that goal had to be achieved through strategic career moves that led me to live in England followed by several years in South Africa, before finally settling in America in 1985.
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In my daily working life my family and I operate a processing machinery business based in South Carolina, our customers being scattered throughout the US but mostly in the South Eastern states. In my other life I am a writer and have published two novels to date.
'The Kimberley File' is a fast paced adventure novel based primarily in South Africa during the apartheid era of the 1980's. The plot centers around events that take place in the secretive world of illicit diamond trading. It was first published in 1997 when Indie Publishing was far more difficult than it is today. Many readers have commented on how similar my storyline is to the story portrayed in the film Blood Diamonds, which came out some years after 1997. All I have to say is that no Hollywood money came my way as yet. I have just republished this book in July 2021 via KDP Amazon, in both e-book and paperback formats.
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'Ireland's Final Rebellion(1919-1921) and An American Dream' was published via KDP Amazon in March 2021. It is a two-part historic novel that was years in the writing and is very close to my heart. Part one is based on my father's direct active involvement in the 1919 Irish War of Independence, which led to the founding of The Irish Free State in 1921. Fortunately I was able to bring my great grandmother, a gifted Seanachie(Gaelic Storyteller), to life in this book and she recounts how Irish history unfolded and set in motion the events that led to The Final Rebellion. In part two I continue the family history - it is based on my own life journey that led me to America and my search for The American Dream.
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I hope you enjoy these books and that you will check in with me periodically, as I work on my next books.
