The author, whose love of history saw him swap careers from working as a veterinary surgeon to writing full-time, has close ties to Dundalk and Co Louth, spending much of his youth in Castlebellingham, where his parents Kyran and Helen still live.
“My parents are from Dublin and my Dad is a vet as well. We came back from Africa when I was seven as he joined the Department of Agriculture and was the vet for the meat factory in Ravensdale.”
“They bought a house in Castlebellingham and I went to the Marist primary and secondary schools from 1977 to 1987 and then I went to UCD and became a vet.”
Ben worked in a number of Irish veterinary practices, including Westgate Vets in Drogheda, before moving to England in1996 to concentrate on ‘small’ animal practice.
While he enjoyed the work and loved working with animals, his “itchy feet” took him abroad in 1997, on a three-month solo trip along part of the ancient Silk Road.
The following year he set off on another trip – this time travelling around the world on a journey that lasted three years.
He arrived back in England in 2001, just as the Foot and Mouth outbreak started.
“It was horrific”, he recalls. “The only place in Ireland where there was an outbreak was in Cooley and my Dad worked there was well.”
The one silver lining of his working in Northumberland in the north of England was that he was able to visit some of the Roman sites and museums along Hadrian’s Wall.
These were places he had read about as a child and longed to visit. Exploring the rugged landscape gave him an idea for a novel and he wrote his first book.
“It wasn’t any good but it got me an agent and he made me write another one which was better and it got published.”
He has now written eighteen novels, eleven of which are Sunday Times bestsellers, and his books are published in twelve language, selling a million copies worldwide. In 2016, his research was recognised by Bristol University with an honorary Doctor of Letters degree.
His latest novel Stormcrow is set in Ireland, with the action taking place in Annagassan, Monasterboice, Knowth and the Hill of Tara, as well as Dublin, Waterford and Clonmacnoise.
It tells the story of thirteen-year old Finn, “a half-Irish, half Viking young lad” who sets out looking for revenge after his father murdered.
He has been given the name Stormcrow after finding the sword of a slain Norseman, with Odin’s raven watching.
Ben meticulously researches his books, spending two to three months doing research before writing.
“There is a massive amount of research but when you have to write a novel a year, there is never enough time to do the research. I usually do two to three months. It’s a big part of the job, It’s good fun but you have to rein yourself in as it can take so long to do and you still have to write the book.”
For Stormcrow, he consulted with the late local historian Micheal McKeown.
“He shared with me an amazing amount of information and I’m very sad that I didn’t get to meet him. He was going to take me to the site at Annagassan.”
Ben says that when he was growing up in Castlebellingham, there was no knowledge of the Viking settlement at Annagassan.
“It was discovered thanks to Micheal McKeown, who remarkably worked out where it would be from the geology of the area and the shape of the river banks. It was found in 2005 and is actually the biggest Viking settlement in Ireland apart from Dublin.”
While the storylines are crafted from his own imagination, it’s very important to Ben that the historical facts are accurate.
He asked one of the world’s leading experts on Viking history, Professor Neil Price to read the book.
“He gave it the thumbs up.”
Ben has already started work on his next novel, The Last Roman Empress, telling the story of a woman empress who managed to rule in the 5th century AD while waiting for her baby son to come of age.
Ben is looking forward to chatting with local readers about Stormcrow and his other books when he comes to Roe River Books, Clanbrassil Street, Dundalk on Monday May 27 at 7pm for a sold-out event organised in conjunction with Culture Club.
