Swansong – The story of Occi Byrne

Aus­tin ‚Occi‘ Byrne’s life begins when his mother brings him back to her vil­la­ge in Sli­go after she fails to have an abor­ti­on in Eng­land. Occi suf­fers trau­ma­tic bul­ly­ing at the hands of a local gang, but remains devo­ted to his incre­a­singly alco­ho­lic mother, con­vin­ced that his lost father will one day re-enter his life. When the men­tal asyl­um he’s com­mit­ted to as an ado­lescent clo­ses down, he finds work on a traw­ler whe­re he cau­ses the death of a fel­low sailor. The mur­der goes undis­co­ve­r­ed, but worse awaits Occi when he returns home and learns the truth about his parentage.