Mial Pagan

Mial Pagan (born 28 May 1956, Belfast) is a British author and playwright.

Early life

Michael Gerard Pagan attended St. MacNissi's College, Garron Tower, graduating in 1974. He came to England and studied for a degree in drama, English Literature and French at Manchester University, graduating in 1980, appearing in a number of productions. After university, he moved to London where he appeared in a number of productions. He appeared in Eugène Ionesco's 'Rhinoceros' at the Croydon Warehouse Theatre. He was a member of the Company of Ten theatrical group and appeared with them in 'Translations' by Brian Friel, 'A Streetcar Named Desire', and 'God Only Knows' by Hugh Whitemore. He worked as a Drama Therapist in hospitals and day centres around London.

Early career

He changed career in 1988 to start working in I.T. for KPOS Computer Systems in Brentford. From 1990 he worked in I.T. management for various companies; over three years at Zenith Media and over five years at Carat UK. He worked for advertising agencies writing articles for business magazines. In 1997 he studied for an MBA in Management and Technology at the Open University. In 2002 he set up The Pagan Consultancy. He wrote business books in the 'Teach Yourself' series for Hodder Education.

Author

His plays have been produced at the Abbey Theatre, St Albans: 'Other People's Lives' (2010), 'Dancehall Sweethearts’ (2017), and 'National Trust' (2021).

He was the author of the film 'Paradise Place' (2013), a comedy about a soldier returning from duty in Afghanistan who finds that the street where he lived no longer exists.

His play 'The Old Fighting Cocks' was recorded by The Company of Ten in association with Radio Verulam in 2018. It tells the story of local soldiers joining up to fight in the First World War.

He also writes under the pen name 'Michael McDonnell', a series of the Dermot O'Hara Mysteries.

Since 2008 he has worked as a freelance writer at the publisher Hodder and Stoughton.

Personal life

In 1987 he married the author and human rights campaigner Siobhan Dowd (1960-2007) in Lambeth; they separated in the early 1990s. In 1996 he married Alison McNaught (b 1961, Wirral) at Aylesbury Vale. He has lived in St Albans, Hertfordshire since 1997.

Publications

As Mial Pagan

• Manage Your IT for Profit (Teach Yourself) (2010)
• Other People's Lives (2012)
• Thicker Than Water (2012)
• Banshee (2013)
• Eat More Bloody Meat Y'Bastards! (2014) later renamed The Agency
• Short Cuts: Three short stories (2015)
• The Loneliest Man In The World (2016)
• The Old Fighting Cocks (2016)
• Dancehall Sweethearts (2018)
• National Trust (2022)

As Michael McDonnell

The Dermot O'Hara Mysteries

• Thicker Than Water (2012)
• Banshee (2013)
• The Loneliest Man In The World (2016)

External links

• Mial Pagan Home Page
• The Old Fighting Cocks podcast
• Mial Pagan at Goodreads
• Mial Pagan at IMDb