The abuse of children by the church in Ireland is a subject that constantly appears in film and literature. It has been depicted in films such as “The Magdalene Sisters”, “Philomena” and “Small Things Like These” – now it is the turn of multi-award-winning author Sebastian Barry.
It is almost unbelievable that people who said they were religious and caring - people you should feel safe with outside the family - could engage in something so disgusting, Barry tells TT on a visit to Stockholm after attending Littfest in Umeå.
Awarded in France
He is one of Ireland's most highly regarded and celebrated writers. A couple of years ago, he was awarded the prestigious Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.
In “For Old Sins” we meet retired policeman Tom Kettle, who lives a quiet life on the east coast of Ireland. One evening, two policemen ring the doorbell. They have started digging into an old case - a Catholic priest who had fallen off a mountain and died. They want Kettle’s help, but at the same time another priest has hinted that Kettle himself may have had something to do with the death.
What follows is an exciting and increasingly tragic story about love, death and loss. The book received the Swedish Academy of Crime Fiction's award for the best translated crime novel of 2025. But is it really a crime novel? Isn't it more of a tragic novel with elements of a crime novel? Barry laughs.
It has been called that in several countries. In the first chapters it's in the world of a crime novel. Then this is broken down. So you could call it a deconstructed crime novel.
Sexual assault
It is often a tough book to read, with descriptions of adult priests sexually abusing young children.
But it's also about young children being taken from their parents and locked up. It was socially accepted. We can only be grateful that those who were exposed started talking about it and that books were written and films were made about it,
- Those who were exposed say: please, keep talking about it, keep writing about it.
Barry talks about his book as having taken on a life of its own after publication, and he now travels around with it. He has recently finished a new book, which will be released this fall. And he has received a couple of requests to make a film adaptation of “Old Sins.”
But it's not something I think about. If it happens, it happens.
Facts: Sebastian Barry
Age: 71 years.
Lives: In Wicklow, Ireland.
Family: Wife and four children.
Occupation: Writer.
Selected previous books: "Days without end", "A Thousand Moons".
Current: The novel "Gamla synders skull", which was published in Swedish in 2025 and was recently awarded by the Swedish Academy of Crime Fiction.
