Born on the 8th of May, 1958, in Dublin, Roddy was brought up in Kilbarrack. He graduated from University College Dublin with a Bachelor of Arts degree and went on to be an English teacher before ditching that to take up authoring full time in 1993. Doyle also applied himself to the world of education again in 2009 when he opened a creative writing centre with Seán Love, called ‘Fighting Words’. He has also involved himself in many protests and has proven himself to fight for what he believes and what he likes. 

Before becoming a full-time author in 1993, Doyle had already published three novels (The Commitments in 1987, The Snapper in 1990, and The Van in 1991) of which all three make up the Barrytown Trilogy. His works after delved into the confusing world as seen from the eyes of a young boy (Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha) to the woes of an abused wife who cannot seem to rebel against her violent husband (The Woman Who Walked into Doors). 

Doyle’s work is heavily Irish and concerns itself often with the events and happenings in Ireland, meaning that he has found great fame in his own nation as well as elsewhere, drawing not only on something exclusively Irish but something deep within any human, that state of confusion as seen most roaringly well in Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.