"Irish" & A Man's Game

These two human interest stories by Irish author Donn Byrne are about professional boxers who fight opponents in the ring while simultaneously battling demons within themselves. “Irish” follows a popular, young boxer on the rise who knowingly risks his spotless record by taking a match he believes unwinnable for money he needed to support his unappreciative, delusional father. The second story, A Man’s Game, tells of an aging boxing champion who is harassed by his conscience in the ring for accepting a match he didn’t want and an outcome he couldn’t abide for bribe money he would use to advance his son’s education. The fighting scenes in these stories are vividly described, partly owing to Donn Byrne’s experience as an amateur boxer who attained the lightweight championship while attending Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. To add both context and interest to these outstanding stories, Liam O’Neil envisions, interprets, and illustrates the boxer characters and their battles in and out of the ring to great effect. His illustrations shine forth brilliantly to grace these deeply probing and lively Donn Byrne stories.