Alan Titley is Emeritus Professor of Modern Irish at University College Cork, and a member of the Royal Irish Academy. He was Head of the Irish Department at St Patrick’s College, Dublin City University until 2006. He has written seven novels, including two for young people, as well as more than a hundred short stories, several plays, and one collection of poetry. His translation of the classic Irish novel Cré na Cille was published by Yale University Press as The Dirty Dust in 2014. Tagann Godot (Godot turns up) is a sequel to Beckett’s famous play and was produced in the Abbey/Peacock National Theatre and has been translated into French, Italian and Russian. His radio plays have been produced by both RTÉ (Ireland), and the BBC (Britain). His new play for young people An Filleadh (‘The Return’) will be produced in the National Theatre in March of this year. Nailing Theses (2012) is a collection of his literary and cultural essays in English, but which are distinct from his earlier collection in Irish Chun Doirne (Fisticuffs), both of which are published by Lagan Press in Belfast. He also writes a weekly column on current and cultural affairs for The Irish Times.