NIGHT SWIMMING

"I don't know if I can blame the heatwave, or if the Americans were the reason it all happened, but something occurred that summer that changed our lives. Even now, it's the only summer that really matters, the one I always turn to when anyone asks me about my childhood. It's my story, but it is also my mother's."

It's the summer of 1976 and for nine-year-old Megan it's a time of great discovery: violence in the North of Ireland, from which her mother and grandmother want to shield her; the Olympic Games in Montreal; a growing awareness of her father's absence.

Then the arrival of an American family tilts Megan's world on its axis. Chris, Judith and their daughter, Beth at first seem like a breath of fresh air but with these new additions, Megan soon begins to realise the confines of her own world, and with Beth's encouragement, she starts to test boundaries so carefully put in place by her family.

Megan's innocence is shattered by the events of that summer and most especially by one tragic night that changes everything.

Doreen Finn was born in Dublin. She was educated at UCD, and holds a degree in English and Spanish, and a Master s in Education. She has lived in Madrid and Los Angeles, and currently resides in Dublin with her husband and two small children. NIGHT SWIMMING is her second novel, following MY BURIED LIFE, which was shortlisted for the Kate O'Brien Award.