"A marvellous tapestry, tracing the Malone family’s journey from Irish immigration to Australia in the 1840s through to the 1950s. True to his background, military history is threaded naturally through the book, from the Irish Uprising to WWI and WWII."​

 

By the author of the acclaimed and best-selling (5 re-prints) military memoir Two Ranks on the Road: 35 Years of Australian Special Forces Service (2024), Hail Mary, the Creek’s Up: From the Banks of the Castlereagh to the SAS, is a powerful prequel memoir of resilience, mischief, and transformation set against the backdrop of rural Australia which focuses on the early years of this true Australian original. Growing up in the tiny New South Wales town of Binnaway, on the banks of the Castlereagh River, Michael John Malone was the knockabout tearaway forever in trouble. Yet beneath the scrapes and small-town adventures lay the steadying influence of five remarkable women whose love and strength shaped his character. From bush childhood freedom to the discipline of boarding school, this is the story of how a restless boy became a man of purpose.

 

Written in advance of Two Ranks on the Road, Hail Mary, the Creek’s Up is a prelude to the well-known story of Mick Malone’s long career with the Australian Special Air Service Regiment. Before he became a respected soldier and leader of men, Mick Malone was an inquisitive, active child with a knack for finding trouble. His hard-scrabble, resilient childhood was one of simplicity borne of the time and place, as a third-generation Australian of strong Irish stock.

​

Get your limited signed copy today.

​

"Michael Malone’s prequel to bestseller ‘Two Ranks on the Road’ (5 reprints) combines memoir and history of his Irish lineage and growing up in rural NSW. ‘Hail Mary, the Creek’s Up leaves no doubt of Mick’s love of family and country."​​​