Adapted Classics will soon present two human interest stories by Irish author Donn Byrne. Both stories are about professional boxers who fight opponents in the ring while simultaneously battling psychological demons within themselves “Irish” . follows a popular, young boxer on the rise who knowingly risks his spotless record by taking a match he believes unwinnable for money he needed to support to his unappreciative, delusional father. The second story, A Man’s Game, tells of an aging boxing champion who is harassed by his conscience in the ring for accepting a match he didn’t want and an outcome he couldn’t abide for bribe money he would use to advance his son’s education. The fighting scenes in these stories are vividly described, partly owing to Donn Byrne’s experience as an amateur boxer who attained the lightweight championship while attending Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

But Donn Byrne certainly created more stories, long and short, than those he centered on boxing; he was a successful author of thirteen novels and many stories with a knack for vividly describing scenes and ideas no matter the setting or the theme he founded and unveiled. And yes, this again was partly owing to his personal experiences in wide-ranging situations during the active life he led in both his native Ireland and the USA. But his personal experiences only account for a fair share of his ability to vividly describe events and settings. His talent for this also owed to his mastery of two languages, English and Gaelic, and his fascination with the folk-tales he heard from old folks in the the hills of Northern Ireland during his youth. He listened with rapt attention, envisioned what he heard, then stored away his own interpretation of the people and scenes in the tales conveyed to him. His love of language and his skill at listening, imagining, interpreting, and expounding were attributes that enhanced and solidified the descriptive talents that his life experiences fostered.

To add both context and interest to these outstanding stories, Liam O’Neil envisions, interprets, and illustrates the boxer characters and their battles in and out of the ring to great effect. Liam, from the Twin Cities of St Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, nurtured love and talent for art from an early age, advancing
inate skills at the renowned Art Academy in St. Paul during the spent in elementary and high school. Liam is a recent graduate of The Savanah College of Art and Design with a primary focus on Illustration. It can be said Liam has now arrived where destiny ordained—in a career as a professional Illustrator, a well-earned, well-deserved status that shines forth brilliantly in illustrations gracing these deeply probed and lively Donn Byrne stories.