Philip Ó Ceallaigh

has published over 50 stories, and some of his best make up the striking collection in Trouble (The Stinging Fly, approx €14.99, out now).

Over the course of one, we get his compelling short story form on a variety of themes (from invariably male narrators): animalistic (often literally) violence to love and the frailty of the human spirit. It’s a collection which follows the beat of its own drum (not an easy task in first-person), but he pulls it off with elegance.