Posted on July 14, 2018July 17, 2018 in Blog, Books, Culture, Literature, music, Writing

Come Away

Come away, O human child!

To the waters and the wild

With a faery, hand in hand,

For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand

THE STOLEN CHILD

William Butler Yeats

This poem has been knocking on the door of my subconscious for quite a few years now and I’m proud to have it gracing the first page of my book, The Story Collector.

Growing up in Ireland, it’s easy to take things for granted. To me, Yeats was just another poet whose lines I had to learn off by heart at school and coldly analyse for exams. But it was during the 80’s, when my brother bought a record (remember those!) by The Waterboys called Fisherman’s Blues, that it all changed. The band were aiming for a more stripped back sound and spent some time in County Galway, writing and recording the album in an old house in Spiddal. I’ve always loved that record, but one of their greatest triumphs was in marrying the words of WB Yeats to music. Some poems have music in them and Mike Scott reveals the lyrical prose with a haunting recording of the poem. It features Tomás Mac Eoin, a local Sean-nós singer, narrating the verses and as Scott himself remarked, once they ‘had the poem fastened snugly to the music, worlds merged.’ For me, that recording brought the words to life and I’ve been enchanted by the poem ever since.

The idea that the fairies can lure beautiful boys and girls is an old one, and Yeats captures the romantic picture they might paint of life in the wilds of nature. My novel also features an old Irish lullabye, Seoithín seothó. I first heard it on the radio, sung by Roisin Elsafty (another Galway woman!) and I was mesmerised by its beauty. The song tells the story of a mother lulling her baby to sleep with soothing promises to keep them safe from the fairies, who are playing in the moonlight on the rooftop. There is a wonderful fascination with The Good People in Irish ballads, where people are helplessly drawn to their beauty, despite the dangers. I love that sense of push and pull, the lure of the unknown. But again, this song came to me long before the novel, weaving its way in amongst my memories and waiting until the right moment.

Novels are funny creatures, because you realise you’ve been collecting knowledge all through your life without understanding where it may lead. A few years ago, I visited Thoor Ballylee, Yeats’ tower home in county Galway. I was with my sister, who is the poet in the family, and so I figured this pilgrimage was more for her than myself. But once there, I experienced such a sense of ease, of playfulness and yes, magic! I could completely understand how he had been inspired to write about The Good People. Maybe the spell was cast even then to write The Story Collector!

The summer home of W. B. Yeats and his wife George, Thoor Ballylee is a 15th century tower house built beside the Streamstown River, it’s idyllic setting is simply mesmerizing. We arrived late on a sunny evening, crossing the little bridge just as the sun began to set. At once, I was under the spell of the place. Surrounded by trees whose leaves whispered in the breeze, I could feel a sense of timelessness and calm in this beautiful place. It wasn’t hard to imagine why he loved to escape to Thoor Ballylee and I’m sure he was never short of inspiration there.

We spent a long time there, exploring the pathways that led through the woods and down by the stream and discovered the sweetest little picnic tables across the road that resembled little toad stools. I’ve never felt such an instant connection with a place and I really cannot wait to return. As Yeats wrote in a letter to a friend about leaving Thoor Ballylee, “Everything is so beautiful that to go elsewhere is to leave beauty behind.”

The Story Collector is now available in eBook and Paperback

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ Dubrays ~ Foyles ~ O’Mahony’s ~ Waterstones ~ WH Smith

Posted on May 19, 2015 in Blog

Treasures underneath the sea

Imagine having a treasure trove of 16th century artefacts on your doorstep and doing absolutely nothing to preserve them. This would appear to be the stance of the National Monuments Service and their Underwater Archaeology Unit regarding the Spanish Armada wrecks being lost to our ferocious Atlantic currents. But what’s this got to do with me? Well, my first novel, The Cross Of Santiago was inspired by the events of 1588 and the Armada’s demise along the Irish coast. Just recently, I wrote about the discovery of wreckage washing ashore following some severe winter storms here (the very latest being a small cannonball), but a recent article in the Irish Times has got my blood boiling again!

Hiram Morgan from the University of Cork points out in his article the many benefits of a government led project of recovery, conservation and ultimately display of the untold artefacts currently under threat. The image above is a just a sample of the rich treasures found on La Girona, a ship that sank just off the Northern Coast and is currently on display in the Ulster Museum and generates great interest among locals and tourists alike. When I was researching this time period for my novel, I couldn’t believe how Ireland had been the setting for such an important time in European history. I have no recollection of learning anything about this at school and I have to agree with the author of the article, that we are really missing out on something historically unique and valuable if we lose these treasures to the sea.

Morgan praised the efforts of locals, who have become ‘citizen archaeologists’ in an attempt to monitor and report the situation. A local group – Grange and Armada Development Association are hoping to establish Grange as the Armada Centre for the whole of the Island of Ireland. Now of course, the ship in my own story wrecked in Connemara, but I doubt whether there is anything left of the Falcon Blanco de Mediano, so I’ll give them this one! But seriously, it’s important that we create a heritage site somewhere that commemorates the souls lost on our shores and an interpretive centre for locals and tourists. Even in Galway, the vast majority of residents are completely unaware that around 300 soldiers and sailors were executed in Forthill cemetery on the order of Governor Bingham. There is a plaque which was erected in 1988 by members of the La Orden Del Tercio Viejo Del Mar Oceano, the oldest marine corps in the world, but it is hidden behind the cemetery walls, quietly keeping watch over the sacred ground. The memorial is only written in the Irish and Spanish language as an intended snub to the language of the perpetrator.

LA ORDEN DEL TERCIO JIEJO DEL MAR OCEANO,

A LOS MARINOS Y SOLDADOS DE LA GRAN ARMADA

AQUI PIADOSAMENTE ENTERRADOS POR EL PUEBLO DE GALWAY EN 1588

DECANCANSEN EN PAZ

22 DE JUNIO DE 1988

AR DHEIS DE GO RAIBH SIAD

We really need to preserve our history and that of our European neighbours, so I hope that by highlighting the issue and making people more aware of the history that is right at our fingertips, we can lobby our government to invest in this priceless endeavour.

You can read the Irish times article here: A race against time to save Spanish Armada wrecks before they are lost forever.

And if you like historical fiction, why not read my book?

Posted on July 28, 2014June 13, 2015 in Blog

Thoor Ballylee

I never really appreciated poetry at school. My English teachers presented poetry as something to be learned by heart, along with the notes, so I could regurgitate the answers for exams. It’s quite sad really, because there is so much amazing poetry out there and I owe my recent conversion to my sister Tracy – who hosts a fantastic poetry show online (you can check out one of my fav shows here).

So as part of a little literary tour, we visited Yeats’ grave in Sligo last year. Under the shadow of Benbulben, it’s a lovely place to visit, but what with all of the tour buses and gift shops selling pretty much anything with ‘Yeats’ stamped across it, it felt a little empty if I’m being honest.

So last week, we took a spin to South County Galway to visit Thoor Ballylee, the summer home of W. B. Yeats and his wife George. A 15th century tower house built beside the Streamstown River, it’s idyllic setting is simply mesmerizing. We arrived late on a sunny evening, crossing the little bridge just as the sun began to set. At once, I was under the spell of the place. Surrounded by trees whose leaves whispered in the breeze, I could feel a sense of timelessness and calm in this beautiful place. It wasn’t hard to imagine why he loved to escape to Thoor Ballylee and I’m sure he was never short of inspiration there.

We spent a long time there, exploring the pathways that led through the woods and down by the stream and discovered the sweetest little picnic tables across the road that resembled little toad stools. I’ve never felt such an instant connection with a place and I really cannot wait to return. I once heard someone describe the ties between Thoor Ballylee and Coole Park like an umbilical chord, so of course we had to drive down the road to visit Lady Gregory’s home.

Another wonderful place to visit, Coole Park was the centre of the Irish Literary Revival in the early 20th century. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, John Millington Synge and Sean O’ Casey all came to experience its magic and along with many others carved their initials onto this old beech tree, known as the Autograph Tree.

We are so lucky in Ireland – there are so many beautiful places to visit, full of inspiring history and interesting personalities. As Yeats wrote in a letter to a friend about leaving Thoor Ballylee, “Everything is so beautiful that to go elsewhere is to leave beauty behind.”

I also have to thank my sister for these fantastic photos – it was well worth breaking into Yeats’ back garden to get this unique shot of the tower and the little bridge 😉

You can get your copy of The Mysterious Bakery On Rue De Paris here.

My first novel, The Cross Of Santiago is also available here.

Posted on April 15, 2014April 15, 2014 in Blog

Literary Festivals – who pays?

One of the great things about living in Galway is the amount of festivals we have here. For writers, however, there is one that stands out from the crowd and that is the Cúirt International Festival Of Literature. When the giant pencils appear on the old cobbled streets of the Latin Quarter, probably dropped by Gulliver on his travels, it’s Cúirt time!

I was lucky enough to have two of my poems (yes, I dabbled!) featured in the 2005 Cuirt Annual, as part of a series of workshops and had the great honour of having one of them read aloud by actress Kate O’Toole at the launch. It was the first time I saw my words in print, and I will always treasure that.

So this year, we were extremely fortunate to have one of my favourite authors, Joanne Harris, come to Galway and read from her latest book ‘The Gospel of Loki’. Engaging, intelligent, witty – she was a pleasure to watch. I suppose after all those years of being a teacher, she knows how to command a room, but it was her insight into literary festivals themselves that intrigued me.

Despite my inclusion in the 2005 anthology, I’ve yet to join the esteemed ranks of guest speakers who are invited to appear at such literary events, but many of the authors who do attend festivals are being asked to do so …. for free. It seems, once again, that our industry is the one where you’re expected to work for nothing. As Joanne Harris pointed out during her talk, there would be no festival if the authors didn’t agree to show up for the event, so surely they are due a bit more than the old chestnut of “Oh but you’ll get great exposure”. Of course she hastened to add that Cuirt were perfectly satisfactory hosts, but explained that someone has to cover the costs of travel expenses and so on, whether that be the publishers or the event organisers. When you weigh up how many books you would need to sell in order to break even, the figures don’t always add up. As she pointed out, authors want to support literary festivals because they are important and full of value, both for the audience and the authors themselves, but is it fair to expect them to work for nothing?

So i ask again, why is it that writers are continually expected to work for free? Whether it’s writing articles (again, to gain exposure) or giving away free ebooks to try and build an audience, working for free is worryingly becoming the norm. I watched a documentary the other night called ‘Out of print’, where Scott Turrow (President of the Author’s Guild) asks why other industries such as Ford or GM are never asked to give away their products for free. It’s unthinkable! And yet, writing is somehow becoming devalued by the practice of expecting writers to work for free. It’s an interesting discussion and one that we, as writers, need to have. In the meantime, here is a link to Joanne Harris saying all of this much more eloquently than I every could! “How much is a writer worth?”

Posted on October 28, 2013August 25, 2016 in Blog

The Cross Of Santiago Literary Tour – Part II

I am a huge Woody Allen fan, not only for his pithy dialogue and adorably flawed characters, but his use of beautiful cities as more than just a backdrop. In ‘Midnight In Paris‘, the city becomes another character, weaving a magical spell around the characters which I just loved.

Having a strong connection to the city in which a novel is set can create a wonderful space in which the reader can lose themselves completely. For my novel, The Cross Of Santiago, I tried to create a similar effect by setting it in my hometown of Galway, a vibrant, bohemian city on the West Coast of Ireland. What’s more, I had the privilege of setting half of the novel in medieval Galway, giving the reader an insight into what the city was like when the tribal families ruled and the merchants of Europe brought their goods to her port.

Galway is full of brightly coloured shops, bars and cafes, so in the story, Amanda’s brother Jay Morrison is the proud proprietor of ‘Novel Idea’, an old-fashioned bookshop on Dominick Street. Across the river lies the Latin Quarter café owned by Dave, where Amanda spends much of her time drinking coffee and meeting friends. The Latin Quarter of Galway is full of cobbled streets and interesting characters, so it was always going to be the setting for the main action in my novel.

In my research, I discovered that the Augustinians came to Galway in the middle ages and set up a monastery on Forthill. After being kindly asked by King Henry VIII to jog on or face the consequences, they set up secretly in the city and continued to do their work amongst the poor. The Augustinian Church can now be found on Saint Augustine Street, and this is where Amanda discovered the true meaning of the Latin motto ‘Tolle Lege’ (Take up and read) .

Next on the tour is the Claddagh, a part of Galway famed for it’s Claddagh ring and the people who lived in this area in tiny thatched cottages, on the shores of Lough Corrib. Please check out some of the fantastic images taken of this area here in the early 1900’s, before the cottages were razed to the ground. When writing The Cross Of Santiago, I often pictured Annora wearing the kind of traditional Claddagh dress shown in these images. Here I am standing close to the Spanish Arch and Nimmo’s Pier, the location of the Boutique Hotel No.7 in the novel and the guarded city wall in Medieval times, where merchant ships landed their goods. The Spanish Arch was the fish market where people from the Claddagh sold their catch.

Finally, the most poignant stop on the tour is the aforementioned Forthill. This is the site where many Spanish soldiers of the Armada were murdered by the English and today, there is a plaque inside the main gate commemorating the greatest act of mass murder in Galway’s history. Erected in 1988 by members of the La Orden Del Tercio Viejo Del Mar Oceano, the oldest marine corps in the world, the memorial is only written in the Irish and Spanish language as an intended snub to the language of the perpetrator.