Charles Egan

Author, Historian with a strong interest in the Irish Famine

About Charles

Charles Egan was born in Nottingham, England of Irish parents. When he was five, the family returned to Ireland, as his father had been appointed Resident Medical Superintendant of St. Lukes, a psychiatric hospital in Clonmel, in County Tipperary.

Every summer they visited his father’s family’s farm, outside Kiltimagh in County Mayo for a month. Charles’ grandmother and uncles spent many evenings, talking about family and local history. It was probably from this, that he became so interested in history.

The family subsequently moved to County Wicklow, where he initially attended the De La Salle Brothers school in Wicklow town. He then went to Clongowes Wood College (James Joyce’s alma mater) where he sat his Intermediate and Leaving Certificate examinations.

He studied Commerce in University College Dublin, graduating in 1973 and after an initial career in the private sector, including Marubeni Dublin, (where he met his future wife, Carmel), he joined the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) in Dublin. After a few years, the desire to be his own boss, led him to resign and set up his own business, which has now been running for 30 years.

Apart from business, his main interests are history and international travel, both of which he has covered extensively.

Charles 3 novels are based on 6 famine documents discovered in the old family farmhouse in Co Mayo.