About the award
The 2021 submissions included so many superb Irish biographies that it seemed appropriate to inaugurate a new category specifically for biographies. We are grateful to Dubray Books for agreeing to sponsor this new category.
Sponsored by
The Shortlist 2021
Dubray Biography of the Year 2021
Time and Tide
by Charlie Bird, with Ray Burke
In 2021, Charlie Bird was diagnosed with motor neurone disease – a man whose voice was so synonymous with his career faced losing it completely. Yet knowing he had just a short time left with family and friends, what emerged was a great sense of resilience and motivation to take advantage of every moment.
Here, Charlie reflects on his life and phenomenal broadcast career through the lens of his diagnosis, as he ponders the big questions and takes stock of the small moments that we so often overlook. Written over the course of 2022 as his health deteriorated, with the help of long-time friend and fellow journalist Ray Burke, this is a candid and unforgettable story about the triumph of the human spirit and, ultimately, what it means to be alive.
