Panenka

His name was Joseph, but for years they had called him Panenka, a name that was his sadness and his story.

Panenka has spent 25 years living with the disastrous mistakes of his past, which have made him an exile in his home town and cost him his dearest relationships.

Now aged 50, Panenka begins to rebuild an improvised family life with his estranged daughter and her seven year old son. But at night, Panenka suffers crippling headaches that he calls his Iron Mask. Faced with losing everything, he meets Esther, a woman who has come to live in the town to escape her own disappointments. Together, they find resonance in each other’s experiences and learn new ways to let love into their broken lives.

Author Biography

Rónán Hession is an Irish writer and musician based in Dublin. His debut, Leonard and Hungry Paul was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish novel of the year, the An Post Book Awards, the British Book Awards, the Books Are My Bags Awards, the Dalkey Literary Prize and the McKitterick Prize. It was also selected by Dublin City Council as the 2021 One Dublin One Book. The Sunday Times chose it as of the 50 Great Irish Novels of the 21st Century.

Rónán’s second novel Panenka was short listed for novel of the year at the An Post Irish Book Awards and for the Books Are My Bag Awards. He has been a judge for the An Post Irish Book Awards , the McKitterick Prize and the British Book Awards. He also reviews fiction in translation for The Irish Times.