Joe Mulqueen (Top o’ the Morning)

Created by Edmund Beloin & Richard L. Breen Bing ("Legalize it!) Crosby more or less ruled the forties--he was riding high, at the absolute peak of his popularity. And he would continue to be an A-lister for decades to come. But with the 1949 release of the feature film musical Top o' the Morning, featuring Bing … Continue reading Joe Mulqueen (Top o’ the Morning)

Harry Rigby

Created by Declan Burke "Cheers. Who the fuck are you?"-- Harry flashes some of his famous charm FUCKIN' A. HARRY RIGBY might not be a private eye per se, but he sure as hell acts like one. A particularly inept one from the detective pulps of the forties, maybe. But Harry drinks like a fish, … Continue reading Harry Rigby

Mystery Man

Created by Colin Bateman You want to hire a really good private eye? Sorry, the detective agency you're looking for has closed its doors for good. But maybe the unnamed owner of the No Alibis mystery bookstore next door, known only by his nickname of "MYSTERY MAN" can help you. Oh, no... not really. No, … Continue reading Mystery Man

Dan Starkey

Created by Colin Bateman DAN STARKEY is a Belfast born-and-bred reporter (as is his creator, Colin Bateman). He's a cynic and an alcoholic, and so far, the hero (or more precisely, the anti-hero) of four novels and one film, loosely based on the first novel. That first book, Divorcing Jack (1995), is set in Northern … Continue reading Dan Starkey

Ed Loy

Created by Declan Hughes "I said a prayer, or something like a prayer, offering it up to theclear, starry sky, then slipped and nearly fell on an early frost outside McGoldrick's pub." -- from The Price of Blood Award-winning Irish playwright, and the co-founder of Dublin's Rough Magic Theatre Company, Declan Hughes' The Wrong Kind … Continue reading Ed Loy

Karl Kane

Created by Sam Millar Hey, man, smell my finger. There's never quite been a P.I. like Belfast's KARL KANE. I mean, most P.I.s, the author really tries to get you to like them. But you get the feeling Sam Millar doesn't give a flying fuck in the well-received  Bloodstorm (2008) which introduces Kane -- you … Continue reading Karl Kane

Bernard Holland

Created by Mike Shelley The so-called "last private eye in Belfast," BERNARD HOLLAND, is no saint. A former agent for British Intelligence, Bernard may appear to be a well-respected, middle-aged gentleman, a devoted husband and local entrepreneur, with the offices of his three seperate businesses, Janus Import and Export, Blue Angel Introductions and the Rapid … Continue reading Bernard Holland

Irish Eyes, Smiling or Otherwise

P.I.'s of the Emerald Isle "There are no private eyes in Ireland. The Irish wouldn't wear it. The concept brushes perilously close to the hated 'informer.' You can get get away weith almost anything except 'telling.'" -- Jack Taylor on the paucity of P.I.s in Ireland, in The Guards (2001) by Ken Bruen John Blaine … Continue reading Irish Eyes, Smiling or Otherwise

John Blaine

Created by Vincent Banville Pseudnyms include Vincent Lawrence (1940--) JOHN BLAINE is a private investigator from Dublin, Ireland who has appeared in a series of short, fast-paced mysteries that have him dealing with Romanian gangs, missing sons, wandering daughters, Irish heatwaves and the like. In his debut, Death by Design (1993), Blaine is hired to … Continue reading John Blaine

Paul Mulchrone

Created by Caimh McDonnell Post-Celtic Tiger, the economy has gone to shit, and Dublin is bellying up to the bar for a round of  the usual misery, woe and griping.  Not a good time for private eye PAUL MULCHRONE and his struggling new detective agency, which seems to be hanging on by a thread. The … Continue reading Paul Mulchrone