parents, priests, bosses and officials reveal all the absurdity, selfishness and hypocrisy of their supposed betters. His books' titles have a jokey craziness, such as Jesus on a Stick (1975) or Ladybird in a Loony-bin (1977). F for Ferg (1980) is a typical Cochrane novel. It documents the antics of some lads who hang around factory gates looking for ways to have fun. They decide to involve the boss' son, the Fergus of the title, in a romantic hoax with someone else's girlfriend. It starts in a comic vein but ends with horribly fatal consequences. Another classic Cochrane novel is The Slipstream. This novel is about the escapades of a group of Portobello wasters who attempt to rob the poor-box in the local church while one of their number distracts the priest with elaborate fake confessions. This novel also ends with the characters reaping more than they planned. Cochrane's characters are often feckless, but treated with sympathy and humanity. Cochrane's exceptional ear for dialogue grants his characters the gift of life. Bibliography Novels A Streak of Madness (1973) Gone in the Head (1974) Jesus on a Stick (1975) Ladybird in a Loony-bin (1977) F for Ferg (1980) The Slipstream (1983) Short stories "The Last Word" (2022) References Male novelists from Northern Ireland 1941 births 2004 deaths People from County Antrim 20th-century British novelists 20th-century British male writers