Patrick McCabe (born March 27, 1955 in Clones, County Monaghan, Ireland) is an Irish novelist, known for his mostly dark and violent novels set in contemporary, often small-town, Ireland. His books include The Butcher Boy (1992) and Breakfast on Pluto (1998), both shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He has also written a children's book (The Adventures of Shay Mouse) and several radio plays broadcast by the RTÉ and the BBC Radio 4. The Butcher Boy and Breakfast on Pluto have both been adapted into films by Irish director Neil Jordan. He wrote a collection of linked short stories, Mondo Desperado, published in 1999. The play Frank Pig Says Hello, which he adapted from The Butcher Boy, was first performed at the Dublin Theatre Festival in 1992.

The play Appointment in Limbo written by McCabe was premiered by Zelig Theatre in Galway's Town Hall Theatre in 2008. It was directed by Cathal Cleary.

McCabe has two daughters, Katie and Ellen. His recent novel, Emerald Germs of Ireland (2001), is a black comedy featuring matricide. Winterwood, was published in 2006, and was named the 2007 Hughes & Hughes/Irish Independent Irish Novel of the Year. The Holy City was published in 2009. McCabe lives in Clones with his wife artist Margot Quinn.

McCabe and film director Kevin Allen are organizers of the Flatlake Festival a music festival held annually.[98949]

Books

• The Adventures of Shay Mouse (1985)
• Music on Clinton Street (1986)
• Carn (1989)
• The Butcher Boy (1992)
• The Dead School (1995)
• Breakfast on Pluto (1998)
• Mondo Desperado (1999)
• Emerald Germs of Ireland (2001)
• Call Me the Breeze (2003)
• Winterwood (2006)
• The Holy City (2009)

External links

• King of Bog Gothic, the Guardian, August 30, 2003
• Interview with McCabe and director Neil Jordan for Breakfast on Pluto, January 2006.