Patrick Delaney endures a hard life as he carries all the hopes of his family to be a priest. At the seminary, there are daily beatings and worse and after confronting his uncle over his mother’s death, he stows away on a ship that wrecks itself on the shores of Australia. He is soon on the run again, joins a circus, is homeless and eventually takes the name Billy Dare after someone he meets. (Bridie from Bridie’s Fire who is now an elderly lady) p.53-56 Paddy confronts his uncle after his mother’s death. Similar novels :A Prayer for Blue Delaney by Kirsty Murray Bridie’s Fire by Kirsty Murray