Lugs Branigan was the toughest cop on the beat. A Dublin legend, he was a bullied kid who grew up to be a heavyweight boxing champion and Ireland’s most celebrated lawman.

Lugs patrolled the Liberties in Dublin, dispensing rough justice. He saved the city from the Animal Gangs, put the run on the Teddy Boys and became a bodyguard to the stars!

Fondly remembered as a guardian of the city, Lugs was a larger-than-life hero whose story provides a glimpse into a bygone era.

Aidan Harte is a is a Kildare-based writer and sculptor, best known for the Púca of Clare in 2022. His fantasy trilogy, Irenicon and The Warring States Spira Mirabilis, was published by Jo Fletcher Books, an imprint of Hachette, from 2012 to 2014.