Children of the Dead End

Although written as fiction, Children of the Dead End  is Patrick MacGill's autobiography.

Starting with an account of his childhood in Donegal, Ireland at the end of the 19th century, the story moves to Scotland where, living as a tramp, then working as a gang labourer, and for some years as a navvy at Kinlochleven near Fort William, Dermod Flynn (as he calls himself) begins to discover himself as a writer.

Peopled with extraordinary characters, suffused with humour and yet unflinching in its portrayal of the near slavery of the poor in Scotland and Ireland, Children of the Dead End sold 50,000 copies a year in the 1920s. It was as influential in its own way as the work of social investigators such as Rowntree in bringing about change in British and Irish attitudes to poverty and destitution.

Praise for Children of the Dead End:

'Its freshness and force is the mark of true literature - the structure is perfect. Heartily recommended' Irish Press

'Splendid...a superb account of its times...Children of the Dead End and The Rat-Pit blaze with a passionate sincerity' The Irish Times