The Night Watchman

"Broad of shoulder, dandy of step, the man stares at you from behind the thick lenses of his glasses and there is a quizzical smile in the blue of his eyes, which seems to anticipate pleasure in your company. Yes, Mike Kelly is a sociable fellow, the wearer of a fine cap of Donegal tweed and the teller of stories - both true ones and those stretched a little to fit the circumstances and his own fancy. 


In this latest volume, Mike, who has already written history books and biographies, returns to his first love of fiction. Although a Liverpudlian by birth, the mood of his ancestral Ireland is all around him, his manner squeezed from the auld peat. In the tradition of James Joyce and Brendan Behan, Mike writes of the street people with compassion and humour. I am glad to call him a friend." - David Charters, feature writer and columnist, Liverpool Daily Post 

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About the Author: 

Michael Kelly first saw the light of day when he was born in Forth Street, Kirkdale, Liverpool in 1932, He was the first of eight children. His father was a Merchant Seaman and his mother tried to balance the books on his father's low wages while raising four sons and four daughters. His school days started in 1937 at St. Alexander's Kirkdale, then the war started and he was evacuated, and this was the beginning of the end of a good education. Leaving school at the age of 14 he did a number of jobs, but was determined to find an apprenticeship. He was married at twenty-one and had four children, three sons and a daughter. 


He had a great interest in the Gordon Institute, Boys Club, taking part in football and boxing and became an instructor in his early twenties. During this period he attended a number of educational classes. He always had an interest in writing, something he picked up from his father who was a good letter and an unpublished short story writer. 

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His published work: 

- Many submissions to Ireland's Own Magazine

- 'Merseyside Tales' published in 1993 

- 'The Life and Times of Kitty Wilkinson', published in 2000 

- 'Liverpool the Irish Connection' published in 2004 

- 'Liverpool's Irish Connection' published 2006 

- 'Mothers of the City' published 2007 

- 'The Night Watchman' published in 2011 by McIntyre Press 


Michael is also a good public speaker and is often called on, to give talks on the people he writes about.