Martin Kay was born in Ceylon and educated in Scotland, England and Ireland. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Limerick and his home is in Munster, Ireland. His first career was at sea in the British Royal Navy where he specialized as a maritime helicopter pilot. In his second career, he has specialized in coastal and rural regeneration and taken a particular interest in communities in turmoil at the interface with the State. Between 2012 and 2014, Martin became increasingly involved with the Estuary and lower reaches of the River Shannon, particularly with Riverbank communities and their culture. In February 2014, the area known as King's Island, Limerick, a depressed part of the City, was severely flooded - and he remained closely in contact with the affected residents and the events that followed. Within the year, he published a narrative entitled The Limerick Flood of 2014: Climate Change and a Case of Unpreparedness which was described as "the missing link between the 'real-life' experience of people affected by climate change and the 'deskbound' reality in which plans and administrative considerations are formulated" (Prof John Sweeney, NUI Maynooth). Martin's conclusions are consistent with the findings of a Comptroller & Auditor General official investigation. Expressly declaring his dissent from the official version of events, Martin cast around for other topical examples and obtained the agreement of Fr Tony Flannery (Galway) and Peter Oborne (London) to his drawing upon their quite different experiences of confronting greater power. Professor Pugliesi's biography of Ignazio Silone provided the fourth case study to be analysed in The Solitary Voice of Dissent. Martin has written three other books on unrelated subjects.