Malachy Doyle

Malachy Doyle was born in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland in 1954. His parents had recently moved up from Dublin and named him, their seventh child, after a local saint. They lived in Whitehead, a small town at the mouth of Belfast Lough all his childhood; his father still lives there. He went to secondary school (Saint Malachy’s College) in Belfast, and then to Bolton, Lancashire where he studied for a degree in Psychology. Malachy taught in Leeds for a year, followed by six months packing Polo Mints. He then worked for seven long years in advertising, firstly for Rowntree Mackintosh in York and later for general foods in Banbury, before buying a small holding in West Wales.

To feed his wife, Liz, their three young children, Naomi, Hannah and Liam (now teenagers), and numerous goats, pigs and chickens, Malachy took a job as a care assistant in a local Residential Special School. For the next seven years he darned socks, patched jeans and generally looked after the children there, before being offered the post of Deputy Head at another Special School. They moved to Machynlleth, a small town on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park, and three years later he began to write for children. He now writes full time, apart from visiting schools or escaping into the mountains, and his books are available in eleven different languages.

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Featured Books, with extracts by Malachy Doyle

Collywobble
Malachy Doyle
This is an absolutely gorgeous, heart-warming and courageous tale of a young sheepdog puppy who is too young to join her master and her mum out on the hill, particularly when it's snowing.  But when they don't return from the...
Featured in: 3+ readers | 5+ readers
Format: Paperback - Released: 14/02/2012
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The Jaws of Death
Malachy Doyle
Interest Age 11+ Reading Age 8+. This is an action packed re-telling of an ancient Chinese myth. Kwang-su must defeat some powerful genii to win the heart of the girl he loves.
Featured in: 11+ readers | Dyslexia-friendly
Format: Paperback - Released: 14/01/2011
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Spooky Soccer
Malachy Doyle
Red Banana Books are for newly fluent readers so if you have a football mad youngster who you’re struggling to persuade to pick up a book, then this one is perfect.  Plenty of humour and with illustrations on every page,...
Featured in: 5+ readers
Format: Paperback - Released: 03/05/2010
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The Lambton Curse
Malachy Doyle
Interest Age 9+ Reading Age 8+. This is a terrific story by an author who really knows how to grab the reader’s attention and hold it. The story is based on a thrilling myth from the north east of England...
Featured in: 11+ readers | 9+ readers | Dyslexia-friendly
Format: Paperback - Released: 29/01/2010
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Horse
Malachy Doyle
All pony lovers will fall for this beautiful picture story. Follow this fully illustrated story of how a foal grows into a horse from the exciting moment when it first learns to stand on its spindly legs to when it...
Featured in: 3+ readers | 5+ readers
Format: Paperback - Released: 03/03/2008
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Barefoot Book Of Fairy Tales
Malachy Doyle
Magical stories are brought to life in this substantial Barefoot collection of Fairy Tales.  There’s plenty of action and drama throughout.  It really is a must-have collection for the family bookshelf to bring out and read a story...
Featured in: 5+ readers | 7+ readers | 9+ readers
Format: Hardback - Released: 12/10/2005
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The Dancing Tiger
Malachy Doyle
Luminous paintings convey a magical night time atmosphere full of dreams, hopes and possibilities and a sense of ‘forever’, even when things are changing. A little girl dances joyously through the seasons with a ‘quiet and gentle tiger’. They meet...
Featured in: 3+ readers
Format: Hardback - Released: 07/02/2005
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