Michael J. Carroll

Michael Carroll was born into a fishing family in Bantry, Co. Cork, Ireland. His grandfather operated a trawler and other smaller fishing boats. His late father, John Carroll, became Harbour Master and held that post for over twenty years. From the time he was eight years old he remembers that he had to row some two or three miles to haul shrimp and lobster pots in the morning before he went to school. Before he attended Secondary School in Cork, he was already fluent in Spanish as the Spanish fishing fleet had made Bantry their base for emergencies and his father became Spanish agent. His summers were spent travelling in France, Spain and Portugal and was probably one of the first Irish ‘back-packer’ visiting those countries. In Spain he followed the footsteps of Heminway enjoying the madness of the running with the bulls in Pamplona and following some of his favourite matadors including El Cordobés. His time in Granada was spent living with the Spanish gipsies when he learned the guitar and flamenco dancing.

During the construction of the Gulf Oil Terminal in Bantry Bay he became one of the major contractors providing sea transport and tugs. With the tanker disaster of January, 1979, his contracts ended. Following his experience of the tanker disaster his love for the sea slowly diminished and instead, began researching local and Irish history as well as visiting and documenting historical and archaeological sites. In 1990 he opened the Bantry Bookstore and two years later he moved into larger premises, where six rooms were dedicated to books of all kinds. By this time the Bantry Bookstore became known worldwide for its antiquarian and rare book stock.

After major heart surgery he was obliged to give up the Bookstore business and he began to dedicate his time to the less stressful occupation of writing. In 1992 his first book called ‘WHERE THE DEER RAN WILD’ was published which contained local stories, events and reminiscences of his childhood. ‘THE SECOND SPANISH ARMADA’ followed in 1993, giving a detailed account of the history of the Spanish fleet in Bantry and its social implications on a small seaside town during the period 1944 to 1978. In addition to these, an archaeological map and commentary of the Bantry region was released as well as tourism and historical guides to both town and countryside.

Following two years of research and writing, ‘A BAY OF DESTINY’ was published. This was a history of Ireland, with its myths and legends, from earliest time and a detailed history of Bantry and Bantry Bay up to 1980. This book was a great success and will be reprinted next year. The books that followed were two historical novels titled ‘‘MARCH INTO OBLIVION’ and ‘SIVE O’LEARY’ which were based on local historical characters and events. In addition, three books on the castles of Munster counties were published.

His latest book titled ‘THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR AND IRELAND’ was released in September, 2006. This is an in depth account of the role of the ‘warrior monks’ in Ireland and a general history of the Order. It also contains excerpts of the ‘Chinon Code’ which details the hidden history of the Templars during the final years of their existence.

Michael John Carroll passed away on the 24th of May 2009.