Glenn Patterson – författare

The true story of one of the biggest bank heists in Irish and British history – and the questions that remain.On a Sunday evening in December 2004, two young men were at home with their families. Both worked for the Northern Bank’s cash centre in Belfast. They heard knocks on their front doors. Within minutes masked men invaded their homes, overpowered their loved ones and disabled their electronic devices. The two bank officials were given a choice: do what they were told or their families would die.The following day, £26.5 million was stolen from the Northern Bank: the biggest cash heist in Irish and British history. The two bank officials simply re-labelled vast amounts of cash as rubbish and wheeled huge bags to a van waiting outside, yards from Belfast’s City Hall. The robbers’ knowledge of the inner workings of the bank was astonishing. They deployed a large crew of drivers, guards and gunmen.Only one organisation had the ability to execute such an audacious, minutely-planned robbery: the Irish Republican Army. But the IRA was supposedly demobilised as a result of the Good Friday Peace Agreement signed six years earlier. The leaders of Sinn Féin (who were also leaders of the IRA) vehemently denied their involvement.No-one believed them. Governments in London, Dublin and Washington were outraged. Yet no one has ever been convicted of any crime relating to the heist. Little more than two years later, Sinn Féin was in government in Northern Ireland.In the wake of the twentieth anniversary of this bizarre robbery, Glenn Patterson builds on his popular BBC podcast to shed new light on the story of the infamous heist, the victims, the organisers and the abortive, at times comically inept, attempts to find the people who carried it out.

In the cold dawn of Christmas Day 1897, Gilbert Rice, 85 years old and with failing health, recounts his journey into manhood in a city on the cusp of great change. Belfast in the 1830s was a city in flux. Industrialisation had led to an increase in commerce and the rapid swell of the population as workers flocked to the newly created jobs. Gilbert, a young man with prospects, begins work with the Ballast Office, looking after Belfast Port. Beneath the shadow of the Harland & Wolff shipyard Gilbert explores this ever expanding and exciting city whilst becoming aware of the political undertones and the sectarian tensions that still brew beneath its respectable veneer. In a city that still resonates with the legacy of the 1798 Rebellion Gilbert begins to question the injustices that he sees. When he meets Maria, a Polish barmaid, he is drawn into a love affair that will drive him to make a stand against those he sees as harming the city that he loves.

First of September 1974. Craig Robinson is starting secondary school. Instinct tells him he needs to keep his head down. The last thing he needs, therefore, is someone carrying the name St John Nimmo to be sent to sit beside him, but that is what he gets.Across town Maxine Neill is starting her own new school, convinced that she shouldn't be there at all. She should be where Craig and St John are. Not that she has met either of them yet. Though meet them she will, and more.Their lives and hers - and the lives of the entire Nimmo family - become entwined as pre-teens turn to teens, turn to twenties and thirties, turn inevitably to the eff decades and they go about the business of filling the spaces vacated by the generations that went before. It's called growing up, never mind that most of the time it feels like making it up as they go along, and sometimes like fucking up completely.Around them meanwhile the world happens: to be specific Belfast happens, for good or occasionally very ill indeed. These are the circumstances life has contrived for them. What are they to do but deal with it?

Saturday, 28 January 1967. It is a day like any other for eighteen-year-old Danny, pulling pints behind the bar of the International Hotel in Belfast, watching the comings and goings of the eccentric clientele.But ordinary days like this are almost over. The hotel has already been witness to the city’s dark tendencies – Danny’s job was only secured after another barman was shot. And with the inaugural meeting of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association the following day, Belfast is on the cusp of changing forever …Widely praised by writers and critics, including Colm Tóibín and A.L. Kennedy, The International is ‘the best book about the Troubles ever written’.The book also contains an essay by Glenn Patterson and a critical essay by Anne Enright. Glenn Patterson is also the author of Burning Your Own, Fat Lad and The Third Party, all published by Blackstaff Press.

The true story of one of the biggest bank heists in Irish and British history – and the questions that remain.On a Sunday evening in December 2004, two young men were at home with their families. Both worked for the Northern Bank’s cash centre in Belfast. They heard knocks on their front doors. Within minutes masked men invaded their homes, overpowered their loved ones and disabled their electronic devices. The two bank officials were given a choice: do what they were told or their families would die.The following day, £26.5 million was stolen from the Northern Bank: the biggest cash heist in Irish and British history. The two bank officials simply re-labelled vast amounts of cash as rubbish and wheeled huge bags to a van waiting outside, yards from Belfast’s City Hall. The robbers’ knowledge of the inner workings of the bank was astonishing. They deployed a large crew of drivers, guards and gunmen.Only one organisation had the ability to execute such an audacious, minutely-planned robbery: the Irish Republican Army. But the IRA was supposedly demobilised as a result of the Good Friday Peace Agreement signed six years earlier. The leaders of Sinn Féin (who were also leaders of the IRA) vehemently denied their involvement.No-one believed them. Governments in London, Dublin and Washington were outraged. Yet no one has ever been convicted of any crime relating to the heist. Little more than two years later, Sinn Féin was in government in Northern Ireland.In the wake of the twentieth anniversary of this bizarre robbery, Glenn Patterson builds on his popular BBC podcast to shed new light on the story of the infamous heist, the victims, the organisers and the abortive, at times comically inept, attempts to find the people who carried it out.

The true story of one of the biggest bank heists in Irish and British history – and the questions that remain.On a Sunday evening in December 2004, two young men were at home with their families. Both worked for the Northern Bank''s cash centre in Belfast. They heard knocks on their front doors. Within a few minutes, masked men invaded their homes, overpowered their loved ones and disabled their electronic devices. It was made clear to the two bank officials that they had a choice: do what they were told or their families would die.Over the course of the following day, £26.5 million was stolen from the Northern Bank: the biggest cash heist in Irish and British history. The two men whose families were held hostage simply re-labelled vast amounts of cash as rubbish and wheeled huge bags to a van waiting outside in the street, yards from Belfast''s City Hall. The robbers'' knowledge of the inner workings of the bank was astonishing. They deployed a large crew of drivers, guards, watchers and gunmen.It was immediately obvious that only one organization had the ability to plan and execute such an audacious, minutely-planned robbery: the Irish Republican Army. But the IRA was supposed to be demobilized as a result of the Good Friday Peace Agreement signed six years earlier. The leaders of Sinn Féin (who were also leaders of the IRA) vehemently denied they had anything to do with it.No-one believed them. The governments in London, Dublin and Washington were outraged. Yet no one was ever been convicted of any crime relating to the heist and little more than two years later, Sinn Féin was in government in Northern Ireland.In the wake of the twentieth anniversary of this bizarre robbery, Glenn Patterson builds on his popular BBC podcast to shed new light on the story of the infamous heist, the victims, the organizers and the abortive, at times comically inept, attempts to find the people who carried it out.

The true story of one of the biggest bank heists in Irish and British history – and the questions that remain.On a Sunday evening in December 2004, two young men were at home with their families. Both worked for the Northern Bank''s cash centre in Belfast. They heard knocks on their front doors. Within a few minutes, masked men invaded their homes, overpowered their loved ones and disabled their electronic devices. It was made clear to the two bank officials that they had a choice: do what they were told or their families would die.Over the course of the following day, £26.5 million was stolen from the Northern Bank: the biggest cash heist in Irish and British history. The two men whose families were held hostage simply re-labelled vast amounts of cash as rubbish and wheeled huge bags to a van waiting outside in the street, yards from Belfast''s City Hall. The robbers'' knowledge of the inner workings of the bank was astonishing. They deployed a large crew of drivers, guards, watchers and gunmen.It was immediately obvious that only one organization had the ability to plan and execute such an audacious, minutely-planned robbery: the Irish Republican Army. But the IRA was supposed to be demobilized as a result of the Good Friday Peace Agreement signed six years earlier. The leaders of Sinn Féin (who were also leaders of the IRA) vehemently denied they had anything to do with it.No-one believed them. The governments in London, Dublin and Washington were outraged. Yet no one was ever been convicted of any crime relating to the heist and little more than two years later, Sinn Féin was in government in Northern Ireland.In the wake of the twentieth anniversary of this bizarre robbery, Glenn Patterson builds on his popular BBC podcast to shed new light on the story of the infamous heist, the victims, the organizers and the abortive, at times comically inept, attempts to find the people who carried it out.

It was one of the most bizarre episodes in the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland: the construction, during the war''s most savage phase, of a factory in West Belfast to make a luxury sports car with gull-wing doors. Huge subsidies were provided by the British government. The first car rolled off the line during the appalling hunger strikes of 1981. The prime mover and central character of this intelligent, witty and moving novel was John DeLorean, brilliant engineer, charismatic entrepreneur and world-class conman. He comes to energetic, seductive life through the eyes of his fixer in Belfast, a traumatised Vietnam veteran, and of a woman who takes a job in the factory against the wishes of her husband. Each of them has secrets and desires they dare not share with anyone they know. A great American hustler brought to vivid life in the most unlikely setting imaginable.

A view of the south of Ireland – political, social, geographical – through the eyes of a liberal northern protestant being asked to rejoin it. ''A pleasure to read... Incisively mixing memoir, reportage and analysis'' Daily Mail ''Discursive, humane and meticulously attentive to verbal nuances that can spell a world of meaning'' Irish Examiner ''Patterson''s travels provide humorous asides, telling insights and sobering pessimism'' Irish IndependentThe reunification of Ireland, which in 1998 seemed to have been pushed over the far horizon as an aspiration, has returned with a vengeance. Brexit calls into question the British commitment to Northern Ireland and threatens its economy. There has been a surge in support for Sinn Féin in the South, a party pushing relentlessly for a poll on the future of the border. If Sinn Féin enters the government of the Republic, as seems inevitable in the coming years, this issue will move even higher up the agenda, with who knows what consequences north of the border.In The Last Irish Question, Glenn Patterson travels the country, looking at this place he is being asked to join and which a significant number of people in the North have spent a very long time shunning. Most of the South is terra incognita to them (as it is to many people who live in Dublin). There have been countless books describing and travelling through Ulster, but never one that turns its gaze the other way. Brilliantly witty and alarmingly topical, this is a social, political and geographical view of the South of Ireland, as well as a journey of discovery for a quizzical Northerner being asked to rejoin it.

A view of the south of Ireland – political, social, geographical – through the eyes of a liberal northern protestant being asked to rejoin it. 'A pleasure to read... Incisively mixing memoir, reportage and analysis' Daily Mail 'Discursive, humane and meticulously attentive to verbal nuances that can spell a world of meaning' Irish Examiner 'Patterson's travels provide humorous asides, telling insights and sobering pessimism' Irish IndependentThe reunification of Ireland, which in 1998 seemed to have been pushed over the far horizon as an aspiration, has returned with a vengeance. Brexit calls into question the British commitment to Northern Ireland and threatens its economy. There has been a surge in support for Sinn Féin in the South, a party pushing relentlessly for a poll on the future of the border. If Sinn Féin enters the government of the Republic, as seems inevitable in the coming years, this issue will move even higher up the agenda, with who knows what consequences north of the border.In The Last Irish Question, Glenn Patterson travels the country, looking at this place he is being asked to join and which a significant number of people in the North have spent a very long time shunning. Most of the South is terra incognita to them (as it is to many people who live in Dublin). There have been countless books describing and travelling through Ulster, but never one that turns its gaze the other way. Brilliantly witty and alarmingly topical, this is a social, political and geographical view of the South of Ireland, as well as a journey of discovery for a quizzical Northerner being asked to rejoin it.

A moving, funny and topical novel about lost love, growing older and the realities of life in a society that is still coming to terms with thirty years of violence from the author of Gull and Backstop Land''No one is more acutely tuned to the heartbeat of Belfast than Glenn Patterson and no one is more skilled at capturing all its love and madness. He does so with both tenderness and humour'' DAVID PARKHerbie has had enough.It doesn''t seem like he has much going for him anymore. His wife, the great love of his life, left him years ago, his daughter has fled for the bright lights of London, and now he''s lost his job too.But life has a tendency to surprise. When Herbie wanders into a new café in his neighbourhood, he may well find something he never expected...Could it be that life isn''t finished with him yet?From the author of Gull and Backstop Land, Where Are We Now? is a novel about lost love, growing older and the realities of life in a society still haunted by decades of violence. By turns moving and funny, topical and sharp, it is a life-affirming story of a life not yet over.

'Funny, wise, entertaining and illuminating, this book is one of the best things to come out of the Brexit saga' FINTAN O'TOOLE. 'Read this absorbing book to understand why, since 2016, we have been playing with fire. There is no longer any excuse for ignorance' MISHA GLENNY. Northern Ireland's frontier with the South has been an invisible line since the peace agreement of 1998. Now the battle over the UK's decision to leave the EU risks turning it into a hard border. Yet few people in the rest of Britain (or Ireland) know anything much about this most volatile part of an increasingly disunited Kingdom. This book was written in the feverish summer of 2019, in the aftermath of the 'New' IRA's murder of Lyra McKee, with the fear and anxiety of Brexit looming over a region in which paramilitary forces are still carrying out beatings, and worse, even as the numbers of tourists drawn by the Titanic and Game of Thrones continue to grow. The power-sharing government created by the Good Friday Agreement has not met – a bleak record in a long-running farce – in over 1,000 days. If it wasn't for the wonderful weather you might wonder why anyone stayed there at all. Glenn Patterson brings a lifetime's engagement with Northern Ireland and a brilliant novelist's eye to an informative, darkly entertaining portrait of a fragile country. Welcome to Backstop Land.

''Funny, wise, entertaining and illuminating, this book is one of the best things to come out of the Brexit saga'' FINTAN O''TOOLE. ''Read this absorbing book to understand why, since 2016, we have been playing with fire. There is no longer any excuse for ignorance'' MISHA GLENNY. Northern Ireland''s frontier with the South has been an invisible line since the peace agreement of 1998. Now the battle over the UK''s decision to leave the EU risks turning it into a hard border. Yet few people in the rest of Britain (or Ireland) know anything much about this most volatile part of an increasingly disunited Kingdom. This book was written in the feverish summer of 2019, in the aftermath of the ''New'' IRA''s murder of Lyra McKee, with the fear and anxiety of Brexit looming over a region in which paramilitary forces are still carrying out beatings, and worse, even as the numbers of tourists drawn by the Titanic and Game of Thrones continue to grow. The power-sharing government created by the Good Friday Agreement has not met – a bleak record in a long-running farce – in over 1,000 days. If it wasn''t for the wonderful weather you might wonder why anyone stayed there at all. Glenn Patterson brings a lifetime''s engagement with Northern Ireland and a brilliant novelist''s eye to an informative, darkly entertaining portrait of a fragile country. Welcome to Backstop Land.

Here''s Me Here: Further Reflections of a Lapsed Protestant features a wide and thought-provoking selection of Glenn Patterson''s writings. With his trademark wit and intelligence, Patterson offers his wry take on life on this planet – from Northern Ireland to Berlin, from Warsaw to Dublin and back again to Belfast. Boldly written with fresh perspectives, Here''s Me Here is packed with charm and honesty, humour and cutting insight.

A pair of novellas, set over two pivotal summers in the lives of two young men from Belfast, recall the constraints of the place where they were born and the times in which they are living.Summer on the RoadIt’s 1980 and in the last summer before his A levels Mark lands a job he didn’t even know he had applied for, sweeping streets for Belfast City Council. Called ‘binman’ by his schoolfriends, ‘snooty’ by his workmates, he can’t imagine anything less like a holiday. Day by day, though, navigating bomb scares, punishing hangovers, broken television sets and a loving but chaotic home life, he begins to glimpse a path all his own, even if he can’t see yet where exactly it is going to lead.Last Summer of the Shangri-LasThree years earlier Gem has driven his mother to the brink. She packs him off to stay with his aunt in New York during the infernal heat of the summer of 1977. It’s the summer too of disco, of punk, the summer of Sam, and Elvis dead on the bathroom floor. For Gem though it will forever after be the summer he met Vivien – as rooted in the city as he is adrift; the summer he stumbled on Mary, Liz and Margie, three-quarters of the greatest New York group of all (and they’d fight anyone who said otherwise); the summer he learned how to go home.Capturing the innocence of adolescent boys, their passion, confusion and yearning, Two Summers is for anyone who has ever been young.

Belfast, 1970s: Craig, St John and Mazine meet while at secondary school. Three very different people, they each come from testing backgrounds, and become friends just as life gets exciting and adulthood beckons. The years pass, and they try to live with themselves and the darker deeds of their hometown as honestly as they can. The Rest Just Follows is a sharply witty story about the people and place that make us who we are.

What happens when history tries to squeeze itself into a town of ten thousand people, most of them related somewhere down the line? For Glenn Patterson's grandparents, Jack and Kate, sedate old age in Lisburn belies the turmoil of their early life together, but also apart - they had to wait ten years to marry. Part personal memoir and part family story, with riveting awareness of the forces which sever and link generations, Once Upon a Hill is a detective story written against the simple erosion of memory and the reluctance of family members to talk. It is a rich, clear-sighted book which deals with love, violence, fortitude and, finally, forgiveness.