Thomas Joseph Howley, born in Boston to an Irish immigrant family, is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel. He began in tanks in Armor branch and transferred later to Military Intelligence, spending the bulk of his career abroad, frequently supporting or leading counter-espionage and counter-terrorism operations.. Key tours of duty included U.S. Special Operations Command and as the only U.S. officer on the primary staff of the United Nations Protection Forces (UNPROFOR) in former Yugoslavia during the height of the civil wars there. 

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Earning a Master’s Degree in Management, after military retirement he was employed as a civilian operational intelligence analyst supporting U.S. Defense, Federal Law Enforcement and the Intelligence Community. In the course of his career, he has deployed to or supported security and intelligence operations in every continent except Antarctica. 

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With an extended Irish family on both sides of the Atlantic, and his training and experience in intelligence and military matters writing about Clontarf was a natural extension of a life-long interest. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife where he is struggling through his sixth year of Irish Gaelic language studies. When not working on a project or in the gym, he can be found making his way through the trails in the deep New Hampshire woodlands with an Irish wolfhound at his side.