Sophia's Story

In 1995, Sophia McColgan's father was sentenced to prison for the serial rape and abuse of his children over many years. He had first raped Sophia when she was only six. It had taken immense courage on the part of Sophia and her family to bring the murky, hidden world of family child abuse to the public gaze. Then, in 1998, Susan McKay published Sophia's Story, one of the most acclaimed Irish books of modern times. Now re-issued with a new introduction by Susan McKay, it records a triumph of the human spirit in the face of the most degrading and destructive betrayal of trust. Sophia McColgan, who now lives abroad, was Irish Person of the Year in 1998.

Susan McKay has won awards for her work, including Print Journalist of the Year 2000, Feature Writer of the Year 2002 and in 2001 she won the Amnesty International Print Journalism Award for Ireland. Her bestselling book Northern Protestants: An Unsettled People has been critically acclaimed. She is a regualr contributor to TV and radio north and south of the border.