Rex Owens was inspired by real-world events to write the Irish Troubles series. The books are fictional but include real elements of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) history. To learn more about IRA history click HERE.
"Ireland's Troubles woven expertly into a riveting tale."
"A rich and satisfying read."
Ian Padraic Murphy harbors a scandalous secret.  To avenge the death of his best friend in a Belfast raid, Ian joins the Provisional IRA which he conceals for 30 years.  He meets investigative reporter Eileen Donohue and friendship blossoms into a love affair.  Eileen inadvertently discovers the man she thought was a reclusive novelist is actually the brain trust for the IRA.  Eileen betrays her lover by disclosing his secret in Ireland’s leading newspaper.  Driven by guilt and remorse, Ian atones for his years in the IRA by working with Sinn Fein to negotiate the 1998 Peace Accord which ended The Troubles in Ireland. After deserting the IRA Ian’s own troubles are far from over when they order his assassination.  The assignment is given to his friend, IRA Commander, Kieran Fitzpatrick. Will Ian pay the ultimate price for disloyalty to the IRA?
"Owens demonstrates a masterful command of Irish political history."
"The author has a voice with a message of hope that any reader in any era can grasp."
Searching for atonement author Ian Murphy drafts the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 ending the 30 year Troubles in Ireland.  Murphy’s years in the Provisional Irish Republican Army and his battle with depression cast him into a hellish darkness.  He finds atonement elusive and begins on a path for public redemption. 

In the fall of 1998 British authorities propose building additional peace walls in Belfast to create a self-imposed apartheid between Catholics and Protestants.  Northern Ireland politicians are struggling to form a government and see peace walls as interference and sabotaging their work to create an independent nation.  Northern Ireland’s political leaders challenge Murphy to help put a stop to building additional peace walls and give meaning to the peace accord he drafted.  Murphy sees this as a path to find the redemption he desperately desires.

Living in Belfast Murphy learns first- hand how distrust and hatred divide the residents but is compelled to accept their viewpoint and recognize the unexpected implications of self-determination.  His experience forces him to examine his own life and accept responsibility for his own self-determination.  Murphy finds redemption in a way he never expected.

After Ian Murphy’s life-long friend, Kieran Fitzpatrick, dies unexpectedly, Ian’s brief sobriety is shattered, and his life is set adrift. Ian feels incapable of fulfilling Kieran’s last request—to serve as mentor to his 22-year-old nephew—but accepts the role to honor Kieran, never anticipating how important this relationship will become.
 
Shouldering his reluctant role as mentor, Ian returns to his life in Cork but suffers insurmountable writers’ block. When a new friend suggests that guilt may be standing in Ian’s way, Ian agrees to offer an act of contrition to the Irish people for his role in the IRA.
 
With the belief that a work of art is a confession, Ian writes a memoir stage play, “Dead Reckoning”, where he reveals his secret life in the IRA, and relies on the aid of Kieran’s nephew to direct this act of remorse. Can Ian’s repentance for his complicity in the horrors of The Troubles alleviate his guilt and allow him to truly live again?