Enthralling journeys with rogues and reprobates

Arts Week with Judy Murphy

Author and journalist Patrick Radden Keefe isn’t entirely sure what direction the conversation will take this Saturday during his First Thought Talk at Galway International Arts Festival.  Boston-born Patrick will be interviewed by archivist and historian Catriona Crowe and there’s a wide range of fascinating subjects they could explore.

His latest book, Rogues, is a collection of several of his long-form articles from the New Yorker magazine, where he’s a staff journalist. As the book’s sub-title puts it, it’s a series of ‘True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks’.

This motley crew includes a German wine collector whose extraordinary finds of historic ‘vintage wines’ fooled auction house experts; the Mexican drug lord El Chapo; a whistle-blower who exposed money-laundering at a private Swiss bank; and a violent Dutch criminal who was finally brought to justice when his sister, whom he had terrorised, turned informer. There’s also a superb profile of the late chef and TV star Anthony Bourdain who took his own life in 2018.

“I’m drawn to people who have a certain force of personality and who change the world or bend the rules in a way that suits them,” explains Patrick, whose mild manner belies his forensic approach to stories.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App

Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.

Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite  HERE.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.