Dublin Harbour, Ireland, 1793:
When the convict ship Boddington left Ireland's shores Patrick Rourke felt as though he was sailing away from his soul as well as from his home land.
Not so very long before he had everything to live for - he was young, strong and healthy, had a loving family and had won the affection of his sweetheart Catherine.
Then, a relatively minor confrontation with the occupying British Redcoats escalated beyond all foreseeable consequences. Patrick became a pawn in the political aspirations of the United Irishmen and suffered the wrath of the British dominated Irish penal system.
With everything he held dear seemingly lost, Patrick found himself thrust into an emotional and physical journey that saw him plummet into the depths of rage and despair as he was transported to the penal colony of New South Wales.
Would he ever see his family or his beloved Ireland again ? And Catherine - all his future revolved around Catherine - what could he hope to offer her now ?
Patrick's Journey contains an uplifting message of the resilience of the human spirit. It is an historical fiction novel based on the real life history of one of Australia's early Irish convict settlers