Brian O’Raleigh was born in Manchester in 1941 to Irish parents, but raised in Blackpool where he attended St Joseph’s College. After a troubled childhood, recounted in his memoirs – Waiting for Walter and Waking Walter, Brian travelled alone to Australia at the age of seventeen, running from his demons and a growing dependence on alcohol. In 1967, he volunteered for the Six Day War in Israel, but later, disillusioned with that cause, he spent the next ten years travelling throughout Europe and Asia. On returning to Australia, he worked for several years on cattle stations, mining camps and construction sites in the outback. Finally, after coming to terms with his own alcoholism, he married, started a construction company, and settled down to raise a family.
Brian began writing in 2005 and his first book, ‘Waiting for Walter’ was widely acclaimed by the Australian Press. His second work: Passage to Inis Mór, a modern day classic set on the Irish island of Inis Mór, was lauded by Frank O’Shea, literary critic for The Australian Irish Echo: “Brian O’Raleigh’s new book: Passage to Inis Mór, reminds one of the great Irish writers such as Sean O’Faolain and Benedict Kiely”.
Brian now ives with his wife, Kadek, between The Republic of Ireland, Australia, and the Island of Bali, where he has built a home in the hills for himself, his wife, an Irish Wolfhound called Cuchulainn, and two spoilt cats whose names he cannot pronounce.
Waiting for Walter: A Memoir – published 25 July 2022. Click the image above to buy the book on Amazon.
A Memoir. Brian O’Raleigh never knew why his family fled Ireland but he learned early to escape his father’s demonic rages by slipping away from the Alexandra Hotel to the beach and the Kathleen R, the fishing boat that was to become his refuge and his sanctuary. At the age of 18, in trouble with the law, Brian left England for Australia seeking to overcome a growing dependency on alcohol and the damage it was wreaking on the lives of those he loved. In a style that is both raw and compelling, Waiting for Walter tells the riveting story of Brian’s childhood, his triumph over alcoholism, his inspirational journey towards recovery, and eventually the profound revelation that he was moulded and shaped during his childhood years for the meaning and purpose of his life.
Quest for Meaning: The Magical Power of Purpose – published 1 Dec. 2021. Click the image above to buy the book on Amazon.
Surveys carried out in developed nations over the past ten years tell us that as many as 75% of people working in Western economies are either disillusioned, depressed, bored, or downright unhappy with the work they are currently doing for a living. Whilst at a more worrying level, the use of illegal drugs has multiplied in these workplaces, as has the use of alcohol, marijuana, and various other types of ‘happy pills,’—drugs apparently used to offset boredom, apathy, and frustration. Violence in the workplace has also escalated dramatically in these industries and in some companies, employees are now required to undergo random drug tests or face instant dismissal. These are alarming facts and, if it is true that such large numbers of people are unhappy with the work they are engaged in, then we must ask ourselves, could this modern phenomenon be a causal factor behind the rampant social, cultural, and psychological problems that are creating havoc in much of the developed world?
Endor’s Way – published 5 Feb. 2024. Click the image above to buy the book on Amazon.
Det. Sean Harrigan, working undercover within some of the deadliest Bikie gangs in Australia, is shocked when his partner, Senior Detective Michael Jameson, is found murdered on Bondi Beach in the early hours of the morning. At first, Harrigan suspects that his partner was killed by the notorious drug lord, Endor. But as his inquiries progress, he begins to suspect that senior officers from the NSW Police Service could be involved. In search of proof, he travels to Ireland, where he meets with Seamus O’Neal, one of the IRA’s top men, who may know the identity of Endor, the psychopathic mastermind behind Australia’s most feared drug cartel. Endor’s Way is a fast-paced thriller set between Bondi Beach, Sydney, and the Island of Inis Mór, Galway Bay, the Republic of Ireland.
The Boy in the Boat – published 1 May 2016. Click the image above to buy the book on Amazon.
If you’re looking for a thrilling tale that seems more like fiction than fact, this could be it. Brian O’Raleigh’s life reads like an adventure story complete with drama, triumphs, losses and some truly hilarious incidents. The Iris Echo rated it as: “It’s at least as good as ‘Angela’s Ashes’, and it has more meaning.” This is definitely worth a read!
The Storyteller of Inis Mor: Could a legend save his life? – published 1 July 2014. Click the image above to buy the book on Amazon.
From the pen of acclaimed Irish author, Brian O’Raleigh, comes an engrossing new mystery that will have you turning the pages no matter what time of night it is! As Frank O’Shea, Literary critic – Australian Irish Echo put it: “O’Raleigh’s book: ‘The Storyteller of Inis Mór’, is very much in the tradition of Irish storytelling with strong, vibrant prose that reminds of the great Irish writers such as Sean O’Faolain and Benedict Kiely.”
The Boy in the Boat – published 9 Oct. 2013. Click the image above to buy the book on Amazon.
An engrossing memoir that reads more like fiction than fact. A compulsive page turner that will have you burning the midnight oil. Brian O’Raleigh never knew why his family fled Ireland but he learned early to escape his father’s demonic rages by slipping away from the Alexandra Private Hotel to the beach and the Kathleen R, the fishing boat that was to become his refuge and his sanctuary. At the age of 18, in trouble with the law, Brian left England for Australia seeking to overcome a growing dependency on alcohol and the damage it was wreaking on the lives of those he loved. In a style that is both raw and compelling, The Boy in the Boat tells the riveting story of Brian’s childhood, his triumph over alcoholism, his inspirational journey towards recovery, and eventually to the profound revelation that he was moulded and shaped during his childhood years for the meaning and purpose of his life.
Waking Walter: A MEMOIR – published 26 Nov. 2023. Click the image above to buy the book on Amazon.
In 2011, Dr Graham Baker was therapist and confidant to some of Hollywood’s major players. Oprah Winfrey, Stephen Spielberg, Barbara Streisand, and Cher, were among a host of celebrities he claimed had either read his books or attended his workshops. And, with his TV series nominated for major awards, it was clear that this charismatic, ‘Guru to the Glitterati’ had struck a profound and resonant chord in the hearts and minds of Middle America. But when Brian O’Raleigh invites Dr Graham Baker to Sydney to train Australian therapists, he is exposed to the pop- psychologists shadow side. Waking Walter reveals the hypocrisy, greed, and fatally flawed philosophies lurking beneath the guru’s slick public facade. Issues that would destroy the integrity of the tour, bankrupt O’Raleigh, and create an international legal battle as some of Australia’s leading layers battled it out in the courts.
Passage to Inis Mór: Could a Legend Save a Life? – published 22 November 2021. Click the image above to buy the book on Amazon.
Conor O’Rourke’s wife, Giselle, has left him to return to her family home in France, and without her, Conor’s life is in bits. His advertising agency in Sydney, Australia, is bankrupt. He’s drinking too much, he’s struggling with depression, and he’s hearing voices in his mind urging him to return to his childhood home in Ireland. His grandmother contacts him, saying that she is dying and must speak with him, and Conor books a ticket to Ireland, hoping he can reunite with his wife. But, when he arrives on Inis Mór, a hauntingly lonely, starkly beautiful island in Galway Bay, his grandmother has already passed, leaving him a cottage and a dilapidated old sailing boat. A mysterious old seaman appears, offering to help rebuild the boat, and as they work together, the old man tells Conor stories of Ireland. Stories of strong Irish men and women. Legends of the Banshee and Cú Chulainn, the Hound of Ulster. Myths of the Selkies (the Seal people.) Tales of love, loyalty, purpose, and passion. Stories that could help Conor redeem his broken marriage if only he could muster the courage to follow his heart.
Return to Inis Mór: Redemption – published 21 Nov. 2023. Click the image above to buy the book on Amazon.
Conor O’Rourke returns to Ireland, hoping he will soon be reunited with his wife. But the promises he made to her, though well-intentioned, will be harder to keep than he realized as he struggles to survive on the remote and mysterious island of Inis Mór. He is offered work, rebuilding a forty-foot sailing boat that had been wrecked on the island years before. But the boat is in ruins and he doubts he has the ability to save her. Then he meets a master boatbuilder and his wife who seem willing to help. But Conor is confused, for the man is a short-tempered, hunchback. While his wife, a charming and lovely young woman, is rumored to be a Selkie, (a seal person.)
Poetry of Inis Mór – published 1 Nov. 2021. Click the image above to buy the book on Amazon.
The poems on the following pages were neither planned nor intended. They came rushing out one day in a café by a beach, on the Island of Bali, Indonesia, as if impelled by some other hand. My intention that day had been to begin writing a new book, Passage to Inis Mór. instead, I wrote the following poems. Sometimes I wonder if it was the spirit of that island that evoked these words and images, for the Balinese, although an entirely different race and culture have much in common with the Irish. Its people are still closely bound to their families and their land. There is a spiritual heart to the island that one can sense wherever one goes. And their Hindu beliefs, which have supported them for millennia, are represented everywhere. Statues, paintings and carvings of their gods and demons inhabit every garden, field, village, and home. The poems came first. Later, as I began to write the story of an old Irish Seanachie and a young man who rebuild an abandoned wooden sailing boat together, each poem fell naturally into place in the same order in which they were written. I have not questioned this. I believe poetry, like painting, sculpture, music, dance, and all other forms of creativity come from the soul and therefore can only be understood in part by the questing mind. I offer them to you now as the carrier, rather than the actual creator, of these verses.
Dancing with Daemons: Finding Purpose – Passion & Prosperity: Volume 2 (Part 2 – The Boy in the Boat) – published 22 June 2014. Click the image above to buy the book on Amazon.
Following his acclaimed memoir, The Boy in the Boat’ – Brian’s new book – ‘Dancing with Daemons’ – describes the dramatic events that occur after he loses his marriage, his home, his money and his business. In a story that is some times shocking, some times tragic but always engrossing, he goes in pursuit of a psychological mystery that appears to be destroying his relationships, his work and his life. His search takes him to America, where he meets Di Graham Baker, one of the most sought after psychiatrists in the USA. Oprah Winfrey, Stephen Spielberg, Liz Taylor and Cher are among a host of celebrities he claims have read his books or attended his workshops and, with his seminars drawing record crowds, this charismatic, bom again, hypnotist cum philosopher had obviously struck a deep and resonant chord in the hearts and minds of middle America. But when O’Raleigh invites Dr Baker to Sydney to conduct training seminars for Australian hypnotists he is shocked to finds himself enmeshed in a circle of lies, greed and corruption that would destroy the integrity of the entire tour and expose the ‘shadow’ of the world’s most famous therapist.
Background Image © St Joseph's College
