Armada

Thanks to all who support me in Cork; Ann Luttrell, Ben Cuddihy, Tony Sheehan of the Triskel Arts Centre, Joe McNamee, Martin MacAree, and I greatly acknowledge the support of Cork County Council in the writing of this book.

Thanks to my Mum and Dad, Gerard and Catherine, whose unfailing support I hope I never take for granted, and to my Mum- and Dad-in-law; John and Frances Moran, for their endless generosity.

A special thanks to Pam Moran, who watches over our children and ensures they have all their hearts’ desire, and to my brother, Colm, who has given me both time and space to write this book. Thanks to all in my family; Karen, Pam, Paul, Fiona and Doreen.

Lastly, thank you to Adrienne, for sharing this journey with me through uncharted waters, for your courage, fortitude and love, and to my children, Zoe, Andrew and Amy.

Also by John Stack

Ship of Rome

Captain of Rome

Master of Rome

Copyright

HarperCollinsPublishers

77–85 Fulham Palace Road,

Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2012

1

Copyright © John Stack 2012

All rights reserved under International Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.