His brother Frank wrote a noted autobiography called "Angela's Ashes", which told of their growing up dirt-poor in Limerick. Director Alan Parker directed the movie version of Angela's Ashes (1999).
The title for his book "A Monk Swimming" came about as a result of his
childhood misinterpretation of a line from the "Hail Mary" prayer:
"Blessed are thou 'amongst women'".
In 2002, he published a book length history of the song "Danny Boy."
Has four biological children (Siobhan, Malachy, Conor, and Cormac) and
a stepdaughter (Nina).