Rónán Hession
musical artist
Rónán Hession ( ROH-nawn HESH-ən; born 1975), also known as Mumblin' Deaf Ro, is a writer and Irish blues musician. He is also Assistant Secretary General of the Department of Social Protection.
Musical career (as Mumblin' Def Ro)
Hession has performed in several bands in Dublin: Rinty, Boxcar, and The Critters. He also performed under the name of 'Johnny Horsebox'. As Mumblin' Deaf Ro he had his first release in 2003. His 2012 album Dictionary Crimes was named as Irish album of the year by Nialler9 and the Irish Independent, and was nominated for the Choice Music Prize.
Discography
Albums
Señor, My Friend (2002)
The Herring and the Brine (2007)
Dictionary Crimes (2012)
Writing career
Novels
Leonard and Hungry Paul (Bluemoose Books, 2019) ISBN 978-1612198484
Panenka (Bluemoose Books, 2021) ISBN 978-1910422670
Ghost Mountain (Bluemoose Books, 2024) ISBN 978-1915693136
Other writing
Hession reviews fiction for the Irish Times, with a particular focus on fiction in translation, and has also written articles for LitHub.
Television adaptation
In 2025 Leonard and Hungry Paul was adapted into a BBC drama. It starred Alex Lawther, Jamie-Lee O'Donnell and Laurie Kynaston, with Julia Roberts narrating.
Awards and recognition
2019 An Post Irish Book Awards Best Newcomer (shortlist): Leonard and Hungry Paul
2019 Dalkey Festival debut of The Year (shortlist): Leonard and Hungry Paul
2019 Society of Author's debut of The Year (shortlist): Leonard and Hungry Paul
2019 #BooksAreMYBag Book of The Year (shortlist): Leonard and Hungry Paul
2019 Republic of Consciousness Prize 2019 (longlist): Leonard and Hungry Paul
2019 Irish Book Awards Newcomer of The Year (shortlist): Leonard and Hungry Paul
2020 An Post Irish Book Awards Short Story of the Year (longlist) 'The Translator's Funeral'
2020 British Book Awards Debut Book of the Year (finalist): Leonard and Hungry Paul
2021 An Post Irish Book Awards Author of the Year (shortlist) Panenka
2021 An Post Irish Books Award for Novel of the Year (shortlist) Panenka
2021 Books Are My Bag Awards Novel of the Year (shortlist) Panenka
2021 One Dublin One Book: Leonard and Hungry Paul
Personal life
Hession lives in Dublin with his wife and two children and supports Watford Football Club.
The public source identifies “Rónán Hession” as musical artist. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Rónán, Hession and musical.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q97574230. VIAF identifies the subject as 51155646146118210606. The Library of Congress control number is n2020015901. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1975, 2003, 2012 and 2002.
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This entry incorporates text from “Rónán Hession” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.