'Blisteringly honest . . . hilarious, traumatic, joyful and terrifying. One cannot help cheering from the side-lines for a man who has overcome so much. Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy read!' LIZ NUGENT

* * *

I grew up in a psychiatric experiment crossed with an alcoholic experiment. . . . a place run by two people who were extraordinarily drunk and guarded by a potentially vicious dog with a brain tumour.

PJ Gallagher spent much of his childhood knocking back Lucozade with the local alcoholics in his parents' northside pub. But the chaos that reigned for his first ten years was nothing compared to what happened when - having lost the pub - his mum took in six psychiatric patients from the local hospital to give them 'care in the community'.

Worst. Idea. Ever.

Madhouse is PJ's riotous life story. Covering everything from dogs, motorbikes and the art of small talk, to the lessons of mental breakdown and finally figuring out love, this is PJ unbound. Most surprising - to PJ more than anyone - is the prospect of becoming a dad in his late forties, when he always thought of 'family' as a trap.

Madhouse is the funny, insightful and moving story of someone just trying to keep his head above water - and how he is making sense of it all at last!

About the Author
PJ Gallagher is a comedian from Dublin. He starred in RTE's Naked Camera from 2005 to 2007. He is a graduate of the Gaiety School of Acting and performed in the 2016 Dublin Theatre Festival in Alien Documentary, directed by Una McKevitt. They worked together again on Madhouse which premiered at the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2018. He also appeared in the IFTA-winning 2016 film The Young Offenders and in the three subsequent RTE/BBC TV series inspired by the film. His memoir Madhouse is published in 2023.


Book Information
ISBN 9781844885978
Author PJ Gallagher
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Sandycove
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 425g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 153mm * 24mm