eBook Author: Newspaper Journalism for Amadáns - March 2012

My FREE eBook includes how to write news & feature stories, business journalism, travel writing, court reporting, tabloid versus broadsheet journalism, styleguides, adding humour to your work etc To download your free 75 page eBook, click here.
Twitter: @siopatmul

True Crime Writer: BOTCHED EXECUTIONS - the Rope, Gun, Chair, Chamber & Needle - March 2012

Nazi Amon Goeth, Botched Hanging

SINCE time began, man has found ways to put people to death. Winston Churchill wanted to execute Adolf Hitler – who he described as the “mainspring of evil” - like a gangster in an electric chair but he never got the chance. Ancient methods of capital punishment included boiling people to death in tar, throwing the convicted onto sharp stakes in the ground and slow crucifixion. But are modern methods any more dignified? 
From hanging to the firing squad, from the gas chamber to lethal injection - man has yet to invent a “humane” method of putting people to death. Read my feature article BOTCHED EXECUTIONS published in MASTER DETECTIVE magazine (March 2012) here.
Twitter: @siopatmul

TRUE CRIME WRITER: Profile of the LONG ISLAND SERIAL KILLER - January 2012

In the Long Island Serial Killer case, New York police have only identified 5 of the 10 victims. They believe all the women and the man dressed in women's clothing had worked as prostitutes and that the baby belonged to one of the women. Forensic testing of the victims' remains has revealed that some of the murders may have taken place as far back as 1996.
Using the results from the comparisons between 5 modern day serial killers (now in jail) and recent police and newspaper reports concerning the Long Island murders, it is possible to create a detailed profile of the killer who has yet to be caught. You can read my profile of the Long Island Serial Killer published on Yahoo! Voices here  Twitter: @siopatmul

TRUE CRIME WRITER: Modern day serial killers and JACK THE RIPPER - October 2011

MODERN DAY SERIAL KILLERS Peter Sutcliffe, Robert Hansen, Gary Ridgway, Robert Pickton and Steven Wright are known to be responsible for the murders of more than 100 women – mainly prostitutes. Between them, they claim to have killed more than 150 women, though even this figure may be higher.
When each serial killer's profile is examined, there are many similarities across their lives, including: family background, academic ability, employment record, criminal record (prior to murder), motive and character traits. I've used these similarities to create a retrospective profile of the most infamous prostitute killer of them all – JACK THE RIPPER. You can read my new profile of Jack the Ripper published as an 8-page pull-out in TRUE CRIME magazine (Issue: October 2011) here Twitter: @siopatmul

COMEDY SKETCH WRITER - 2010

For the BBC. Sketches include: CSI Scunthorpe, Blind Internet Dates, In the Bedroom, A Fool in the Army and even one scene for Ronnie Corbett. To view the sketches, click here. Animated images supplied by sevenoaksart.co.uk

PLAYWRIGHT - 2010 
My play, "Back from the Dead...an Audience with George Bernard Shaw" brings the author, playwright, satirist
and reviewer back from the deep to talk about life, love, his political views and his work. It also gives him the opportunity to sing some of his favourite songs. I hope to have this produced next year. Read the first 10 pages here Twitter: @siopatmul

ADVERTISING SLOGAN WRITER - 2010
For news of Slogan Writing competitions, visit Michael Shenton's website here. He also has an excellent site for general Writing Competitions in Ireland & Britain, including: poetry, short story and novella writing. His site is updated regularly. To view, click here. My slogans include: "You can TRUST an Post" (for Ireland's post office) and "Nicorette Ice: the coolest way to Stop Smoking". My Jacob's fig roll recipes and new marketing strategy - to invite customers to send in recipes made from Jacob's fig rolls can be viewed here Twitter: @siopatmul

EDITOR & LAYOUT DESIGNER - Look Good, Feel Good - 2009

A make-up & skin care book in aid of a cancer charity, giving step-by-step tips on how to look fabulous and feel confident while undergoing chemotherapy and other cancer treatments or while recovering from other serious illnesses. Includes homemade recipes for skin care and other fascinating beauty tips for women of all ages. Read how to make your own face packs here Twitter: @siopatmul

 MEDIA CONSULTANT - Farmers' Calendar - 2009

The brainchild of Ciara Ryan, one of Ireland's newest and brightest entrepreneurs. The calendar shows Irish farmers getting their kit off or 100% IRISH BEEF as she likes to call it. A proportion of profits (2010) to Bóthar and other Irish charities.

Click here to view the hunks in the latest calendar. Twitter: @siopatmul

SUBEDITOR - Irish Daily Star - Summer 2008

A quote from Richard Keeble's The Newspaper Handbook comes to mind: "Tabloids ...use over sensational, cliche-ridden copy...they cater to the less well-off, the less well-educated, those who don't bother to vote but who like to complain about the establishment, those who thrive on reading gossip, those whose attention span is limited; those whose main interest is soccer or sport, and finally, those who don't have the time or inclination to read a broadsheet on any given day." I guess Mr Keeble is entitled to his opinion! If celebrity gossip and premiership soccer are your thing, you can read the British version of the Daily Star here Twitter: @siopatmul

SUBEDITOR - Irish Independent Group - Summer 2007

Question: How many subeditors does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Answer: We can't tell whether you mean "insert a lightbulb" or "have sex inside a lightbulb. Can you reword it to remove ambiguity?"
Tony O'Reilly and son Gavin's strategy to "dumb down and celeb up" their range of newspapers in a quest to increase sales has worked in the case of the Sindo which is a curious but very popular mix of humour, gossip and top-notch opinion journalism. To read the Sunday Independent for free, click here Twitter: @siopatmul

EDITOR & LAYOUT DESIGNER - Cecil Nash Autobiography - Summer 2005

Cecil Nash: A Life in the Roving Irish Theatre, (ISBN 0-9546896-1-5) 2005

Cecil Nash, travelling actor, wrote his autobiography aged in his late 80s. He put the 300 typed pages in a shoe box and these remained forgotten until several years after his death. Cecil's youngest son (and my best friend) Paul Nash, asked me if I could knock them into "something" and the above named book is the result. Read the first chapter of the book here.
"Cecil was one of the best comedy feeds in the business.. a wonderful old world artiste and a pleasure to work with." Fred O'Donovan, theatre producer/ director
"A gentleman who loved the sound of adulation."
Tony Kenny, Irish actor/ singer
"Cecil was a charming fellow and a typical old thespian. He had several successful appearances on the Late Late Show."
Gay Byrne, retired RTE broadcaster, chairman RSA

MEDIA COLUMNIST & FREELANCE JOURNALIST - Limerick Leader - 2004 to 2005

Interviewed Limerick "luminaries" such as Vincent Browne, Willie O'Dea, members of the O'Malley political dynasty and other newsworthy Limerick folk including a nun working for women's equality in Afghanistan. My weekly media column analysed how "stab city" was being covered across the national media. Now rumoured to be in trouble because of the financial downturn ... here's hoping the Limerick Leader survives as it's the best provincial newspaper in Ireland.
Read my interview with Vincent Browne here.
Read my interview with Willie O'Dea (just prior to his promotion) here.
Read Christmas in Afghanistan here.
Read about Paula Radcliffe's Irish sport's guru here.
Read how Willie O'Dea lashes Sinn Fein here.

Or just read the Limerick Leader free online here.
Twitter: @siopatmul

BOOK AUTHOR - Heroes & Villains - 2004

A compilation of stories previously published in Ireland on Sunday in book format. Heroes & Villains: Forgotten Irish Stories (ISBN 0-954689-0-7)

Reviews:
"The Lola Montez story is worth the price alone," Tom Widger, Sunday Tribune
"A lovely new boudoir book,"
Eoghan Harris, Sunday Independent
"A very entertaining miscellany,"
Frank Hopkins, Evening Herald
"A great job of detective work,"
Limerick Leader
"A fascinating book," Munster Express
"Every Irish family has its back sheep, but Jack the Ripper is a whopper by anybody's standards," Down Democrat
Twitter: @siopatmul

FREELANCE JOURNALIST - Ireland on Sunday - Summer 2003

A freelance stint writing historical features such as: Was Jack the Ripper Irish?; Lady Mary Heath, the Woman Who Fell to Earth, Ireland's Lost Tribe in the Caribbean and so on... See links to stories below.

Was Jack the Ripper Irish? here.
Boss Croker and the gangs of New York here.
And Lena Rice, Ireland's Forgotten Wimbledon Champion here.

BOOK CONTRIBUTOR - The Silver Lining - Summer 2003

A beautiful limited edition (1,000 copies) hardback book, The Silver Lining celebrates the achievements of Irish aviation and those who worked and flew at Kildonan Air Field. Published in Ireland by the Finglas Heritage Project and edited by John Haughton who conceived the idea for the book. It is dedicated to the memory of Ireland's first (woman) pilot and Olympic athlete, Lady Mary Heath. Read my contribution "Lady Mary Heath: The Woman Who Fell To Earth" here.

RESEARCHER - Wolfhound Press Guide to Evening Classes - Summer 2002

Up until 2002, Wolfhound's was the only Guide to Evening Classes and an annual bestseller in Ireland but (probably for that reason) it eventually found it had many imitators. Shortly after my summer research stint, Merlin Publishing bought Wolfhound Press whose owner gladly laughed all the way to the bank.
Twitter: @siopatmul

CREATOR & DESIGNER - Women in Irish History: Millennium Poster - 2000

A multi-image poster produced and distributed as a millennium celebration of women's contributions to Irish history and to the foundation of modern Ireland.
Maude Gonne - (pictured) Revolutionary & humanitarian
Mary Spring Rice and Mary Childers - Asgard gunrunners
Jennie Wyse Power - Revolutionary & Senator
Constance Markievicz - First Minister for Labour, Dail Eireann
Hanna Sheehy Skeffington - Suffragette leader & journalist
Louie Bennett & IWWU - Trade union leader
Cumman na mBan - Women's branch of the Irish Volunteers
Molly Gill - Militant member of Cumman na mBan
Kathleen Clarke - First woman Lord Mayor of Dublin
Mary Robinson - First woman President of Ireland
Mary McAleese - Second woman President of Ireland
Get your FREE Irish women's millennium (A3 size) printable poster here
Twitter: @siopatmul