P.D. St. Claire Bio
P.D. St. Claire is the pen name of Paul Belford, a Washington DC-based executive recruiter. Made up of the first letters of his children’s given names – Peter, David and Claire – he first used it for Notes from a Passage, a collection of stories and thoughts that capture the values learned in his own raising and in the course of his life experiences.
A native of Long Island, New York, he has lived in the Washington, DC area since 1968. His great grandfather, Michael Moran, landed in New York harbor in 1850 aboard the William Hitchcock, one the hundreds of 'coffin ships' that evacuated more than a million starving refugees from Ireland during the Great Famine of 1845-52. Michael Moran was later to found the Moran Towing Corporation whose tugboats ply New York harbor to this day.
A product of Chaminade High School (Mineola, NY), Paul attended Boston College as an undergraduate and earned a MA in Economics at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York. Between BC and Fordham, he spent a year teaching Economics at Al-Hikma University, in Baghdad, Iraq, another Jesuit institution.
The Books of P.D. St. Claire
Swampoodle – The Life and Times of Jack Hennessey
Swampoodle - It’s May 1936 and Jack Hennessey’s life is closing. An infant refugee of the Great Famine, he is determined that his life’s work, Hennessey Construction, survive him for those he leaves behind, firstly Paddy Riley, a son in all things but blood. As each day of his final week unfolds, Jack comes to a deeper sense of life’s meaning. His is a tale of life over loss, one lived to the full as the Capitol City goes through boom and bust, from the Civil War to the Great Depression. You’ll want to share this remarkable character with all those you cherish.
Available at: Amazon
St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day is the story of the Rileys of Chevy Chase, Maryland. It follows Paddy’s widow, Mary, and his best friend, Fr. Joseph Hara, over the course of the St. Patrick’s Day weekend of 1968. Opening amid the preparations for her annual St. Patrick’s Day party, Mary struggles with an estrangement from her daughter, Mary Kate, and a grandson’s autism. Weighing heavily on Joe Hara is a Sunday homily that will not come. A young parishioner has been killed in Vietnam and he must speak of it all. St. Patrick’s Day explorers the many faces of love as its characters overcome the scars of past discrimination and personal loss to find purpose and fulfillment, all nudged along by a bitter sweet-miracle.
Available at Amazon
Mount Olivet – The Rising
Mount Olivet takes place in the September of 1993. The Rileys have prospered, their successes coming by a simple credo – you are what you do, what you get done. From Iwo Jima in WW II, through bust and boom, illness and heartache, they take what comes and make the best of it. Through it all, John Riley, CEO of Hennessey Construction, comes to a deeper understanding of the life values he and the others have taken from their heritage. Most directly in this is the counsel of his mother, Mary, whose presence and strength draw on her appreciation of love as a life force and the faith that brought her to it.
Available at: Amazon, Virtual Book Worm and Barnes & Noble
Notes from a Passage
Sometimes amusing, often touching, Notes from a Passage is an engaging and thought-provoking collection of views on life. Each one lifts our spirits, along with our awareness. Here is a book to read and re-read for the pleasure of the words and the strength of the ideas.
Available at: Amazon, Virtual Book Worm