Ben Barnes

Ben Barnes has spent much of his career managing and reporting on crises at the intersection between politics, communications and media. He is a former Irish government spokesperson, advisor and speechwriter. Prior to government, he was the political editor of a national newspaper, appearing frequently on TV and radio. He sees government and journalism as two sides of the same coin: working for the public good. 

He has a law diploma from King’s Inns, Ireland’s oldest school of law; a master’s degree in journalism from Dublin City University; and an English degree from University College Cork. He has stood in the Oval Office, China’s Great Hall, and other centres of power, but his heart is in scenic Co Kerry, on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way, where he lives with his wife and three children. ‘The Murder Loop’ is his debut novel.