Books published by publisher OBrien Press

This title presents the dramatic story of the Norman conquest of Ireland in the 12th century. It is full of battles and warfare, but a story of love, too, between an unlikely pair - wilful and wild Irish princess Aoife, and Strongbow, the greatest of the Norman knights to come to Ireland. It also presents a clash of cultures and a vivid story of one of the Greats of Irish history.

Sports-mad Eoin Madden is home in Tipperary for the holidays. There’s no rugby over the summer, so he and his Castlerock boarding school friends, Dylan and Alan, head down to Ormondstown GAA club and get involved with the hurling and football teams.The summer is full of fun as the boys all get into playing GAA – well, apart from Alan, who’s more into studying the opposition, and checking out the GAA stats. Eoin and Dylan take part in a hurling and football blitz against other clubs in the county and find some of the skills they’ve developed in rugby translate well to their native sports.The lads also have a bit of fun setting up a gardening business with their new teammates Vladis and Isaac to make some money. Everything is going well, so Eoin isn’t sure why he bumps into his old ghostly friend, Brian Hanrahan – along with the ghost of Michael Hogan, who died in Croke Park on Bloody Sunday. Usually when ghosts appear to Eoin it is because there’s something brewing. Some mystery or danger!The only thing going wrong in Ormondstown seems to be a bit of trouble with a gang of bullies. But Eoin and Dylan have handled the bullies – or have they?The ghostly action really hots up when the friends go to Dublin for the All-Ireland Hurling final. Eoin gains a deeper understanding of the tragedy of Bloody Sunday 100 years ago. But will he be in time to stop a modern tragedy unfolding?Book 7 in the acclaimed Rugby Spirit series.

Pirates and crooked rulers make seventeenth-century Ireland a dangerous place.When Tom feels rejected by his father, he finds a secret second family among the group of smugglers who trade in and around Roaringwater Bay.Though Tom doesn’t know it, his family in the Big House is under huge pressure. His father has had savage losses in business; his mother is always sad and worried, and his sisters have no hopes for a good future. This is seventeenth-century Ireland when cut-throat interests control everybody and everything, and land-grabbing is the order of the day. Friend turns into foe, and loyalty counts for nothing.From his new family, Tom learns all about boats and smuggling – and secret treasure. And then Tom discovers the best-kept secret of all ...

Imagine your home is bombed one Sunday afternoon by a horde of enemy planes. Imagine your family has gone and you are left behind. This is the fate of five-year-old Peter and two teenagers Yuri and Tanya.Imagine being ordered to leave school to fight the terrifying Nazis in WWII. Imagine you are right in the middle of a battle; it’s you or them – you have no choice. This is the fate of Vlad and his three classmates.The battlefield is the city of Stalingrad, the pride of Russia. Germany’s Adolf Hitler wants the city badly, but Josef Stalin refuses to let go.Nobody has managed to stop the triumphant Nazi invasion across Europe. It all depends on one city – Stalingrad – her citizens, her soldiers and her children.

Molly and Beth are best friends and love spending time together. But when their two families move in together, maybe they are a little too close for comfort! Out shopping one day they need to avoid the most embarrassing encounter ever with Molly’s mum, and hide in a shop they had never noticed before. When they leave by the side door, they realise immediately that something is not right! Transported back to the past, where mobile phones don’t work and the world feels very different, they realise that they have a chance to see the world through their parents’ eyes. Before finding their way home, can they see what their own pasts looked like?

Five kids with one dream: to become the greatest sports stars in the world!Joe knows he has no chance of catching the mysterious scout’s eye – he loves football, but he’s by far the worst player in his club. Despite this, he’s whisked away to a remote island and teamed up with four other kids: Kim, Craig, Ajit and Jess.But there’s more to this island than meets the eye, as Joe learns it is home to the world’s greatest Sports Academy. With the help of eccentric, genius coaches, he and his new friends are gradually transformed into serious players in their own sports. But the Academy’s secrets are wanted by many others ...Is someone tracking them? Will Joe and Atlantis United escape the clutches of their mysterious pursuers? And can they possibly win their first big game deep in the jungles of Brazil?

Eva wakes up to find that it’s raining – again! She is thrilled because she can’t wait to use her new umbrella but after breakfast the rain is too soft for an umbrella. The rain is lovely but it’s just not perfect umbrella rain!Eva spends the day searching and hoping for the perfect umbrella rain that’s not too windy, too thundery or too drizzly. Finally, she finds it in a sun shower and a rainbow shines making it the most perfect rain of all.Embrace rainy Ireland with Eva in this beautiful and delightful picture book!

‘At the age of six I began to fear for the future. … By the age of nine I was on the run for my life. … By the time I was ten I had seen all there was to see.’An accessible and honest account of the Holocaust that reminds us of the dangers of racism and intolerance, providing lessons that are relevant today. A true story of heroism during this painful horrific time in history.Tomi Reichental grew up in a small village, with friendly neighbours and a big, happy family. But things began to change, and Tomi was told he couldn’t play with some of the local children any more. Then the police started to take away friends and family.Life changed completely when he was sent a thousand kilometres away, with all the other local Jews, to the terrifying Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.The Nazis killed millions of people, simply because of their race or religion.Tomi tells his story so that such a horrific thing won’t happen again.

In the sixteenth century, Granuaile, the Pirate Queen, warrior and leader, was the terror of the North Atlantic and the most feared woman in Ireland. Heading a large army and a fleet of ships, she lived by trading and raiding and demanding tribute from all who sailed through her territory.Told partly through letters written to her son Tibbot, it charts the gradual decline of the Gaelic chieftains and traditions of Ireland as Elizabeth Tudor, the 'Virgin Queen' of England, extended her power throughout Ireland by bribery and slaughter. It is a story of immense bravery and daring, as Granuaile takes on the great Norman lords, smuggles weapons and mercenaries for the Ulster Gaelic O'Donnell and O'Neill clans and finally goes to confront Elizabeth Tudor herself. Some of the great figures of Irish history feature, including Red Hugh O'Donnell, Hugh O'Neill, Hugh Dubh O'Donnell, and Richard Bingham.