The Senator's Sister

The Senator's Sister - A Border Series Novel

Inspired by a real border and a real political crisis.

Owen Ridley, a British Army strategist, is tasked with mapping out roads along the border between Tyrone and Monaghan. Brexit has caused great divisions on the island of Ireland, and now they are about to take the physical form of a hard border. Ridley's job is to close down all the roads that connect the two counties, and to plan for fortified positions for the British soldiers that will patrol them.
Órla McGrath has spent a lifetime living in her brother's shadow, and now has the opportunity to make a name for herself as she rises through the ranks of the Irish Freedom Fighters. They are determined to completely destroy the border in Ireland, whether it's blocked by a foreign army or just an invisible line.
As the threat of a full border closure looms, Órla and the IFF prepare for war; and the British plan to do whatever it takes to keep the Union intact. While Órla contemplates her future as a guerilla warrior, and the future of her country, she is tormented by her past, and the road that has led her to become a prominent figure in the IFF.


The Senator's Sister joins The Half Mile Road (2021) as the second instalment in Séighin Ó Ceallaigh's Border Series. Told along the same timeline as the first novel, it features a mix of new and familiar characters, focused around the continuous plot of a hard border being reintroduced in Ireland.
This novel comes in just ahead of HMR in word count, exceeding 83,000 words to become the author's longest work to date. While HMR had a more neutral, civilian focus, this novel looks at the potential rise of paramilitaries in Ireland, as well as the internal conflict facing the protagonist Órla McGrath.