The Last Week of Him

Nora Cunningham is walking her dog on a Dublin beach one sunny morning when she receives a WhatsApp message that shatters her.

In London, Fern O'Malley is on her way to rehearsals at the Globe Theatre when the same message shocks her to the core.

Clo Kennedy is in the arms of her lover in New York City when they both get the devastating message.

Danny O'Connor – once the golden boy of their secondary school and a member of their sixth-year drama group – has died suddenly at 49, in their hometown of Belmullet on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way.

As the friends return to the west of Ireland for the week-long funeral and memorial, old wounds are reopened, and long-buried secrets rise to the surface. Emotions run high as drama unfolds. What truths have they been hiding from one another – and from themselves?

©2026 Ruth O'Leary (P)2026 Bolinda Publishing

Friendship and its complexities

A very enjoyable listen. Ruth O'Leary manages to pull together a complex plot that unravels mainly during the week of a funeral, where friendships are stretched to their limits. I would highly recommend The Last Week of Him.