From A Clear Blue Sky

A powerful survivor's account of the IRA bomb that killed the author's 14-year-old twin brother, his grandparents and a family friend, published on the 30th anniversary of the atrocity. Winner of the 2011 Christopher Ewart-Biggs Literary Award, and nominated for the 2009-2010 PEN/JR Ackerley prize.

Winner of the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Literary Award, and nominated for the PEN/JR Ackerley prize.

The powerful memoir of a Mullaghmore bombing survivor, as dramatised in THE CROWN

On the August bank holiday weekend in 1979, 14-year-old Timothy Knatchbull went on a boat trip off the shore of Mullaghmore in County Sligo, Ireland, with many members of his family.

By noon, an IRA bomb had destroyed the boat, leaving four dead.

The author survived, but his grandparents, a family friend, and his 14-year-old twin brother did not. Lord Mountbatten, his grandfather - and uncle to the Duke of Edinburgh - was the target, and became one of the IRA's most high-profile assassinations.

In telling this story for the first time, Knatchbull is not only revisiting the terrible events he and his family lived through, but also writing an intensely personal account of human triumph over tragedy. It is a story of recovery, not just from physical wounds but deep emotional trauma. Knatchbull and his parents were too badly injured to attend the funerals of those killed, a sadness that intensified their profound sense of loss.

Taking place in Ireland at the height of the Troubles, it gives a compelling insight into that period of Irish history. But more importantly it brings home that although tragedy can strike at any moment, the human spirit is able to forgive, to heal and to move on. It will resonate with readers the world over.

About the Author

The youngest of seven children, Timothy Knatchbull read Social and Political Science at Cambridge. After ten years as a filmmaker, mostly at BBC television, he studied at Harvard's Kennedy School before spending two years in Washington DC with the Discovery Channel. He now runs a London media business and is married with five children.