I was trying to explain to someone yesterday about how I ended up having four different book series on the go at the same time. Beara: Dark Legends was my first book but it’s the type of book that takes ages to write (not linear and it’s actually two different – but interlinked – stories)… Read more »
What was prehistoric Ireland like 2,000 years ago? Before Christianity, when it was likely an Island with a population of 100,00 – 200,00 people? And how you get that across for a contemporary audience? I discuss this with the Irish Stew gang on the latest Irish Stew Podcast interview. You can find the link here:… Read more »
A fascinating Irish documentary was released yesterday on how Irish musicians are fusing rap music styles with native Irish poetry performance traditions and Sean-nós singing. As a general rule, its incredibly difficult to take two completely different art forms and merge them successfully (i.e. to make something worthwhile and which can stand on its own).… Read more »
I’m always slightly cynical of the Samhain reinvention over the past few decades and I think the more we align with the American tradition of ‘Halloween’, the further we get from what we were. That said, there’s no denying the fun of events back home and Limerick have certainly pulled out all the stops for… Read more »
Over the years, I’ve been lucky with some very generous reviews of my books but I’ve only recently realised that I’ve reached something of a peak with ‘Liath Luachra: The Great Wild’. This book is currently sitting with a five star rating on Goodreads … because every review of the book has given it a… Read more »
These are some recreation images for the Broch of Gurness – a kind of stone roundhouse from the Iron Age, located in the northeast of Orkney. This was an important community centre at various points over the historical timeline with the initial settlement estimated to have occurred somewhere time between 500 and 200 BC. Sometime… Read more »
This short story was the one that started the Fionn mac Cumhaill Series (and, subsequently, the Liath Luachra Series). It’s available free on Amazon at the moment but should be available everywhere else as well from the start of December. It feels satisfying to make this more available again as I slowly edge towards the… Read more »
One of the gorgeous initial scenes from ‘An Táin’ by Cló Mhaigh Eo – Ireland’s only Irish-language comic producer (that I’m aware of – feel free to correct me). This involves Meadhbh and Aillill comparing their belongings to see which of them is the wealthier. The image is by Dublin artist and animator, Barry Reynolds… Read more »
This is an interesting one from Jakub Rozalski – one of the more impressive visual artists out there. Normally, Rozalski is most well-known for his striking werewolf and fantasy battle scenes but this one introduces the intersting concept of two mothers competing for a supply of food for their young. As with books and stories,… Read more »
These days, thanks to many decades of misinformation (and an unregulated internet), most non-Irish people (and, sadly, some Irish people) can’t tell the difference between a Gael, a Celt, a Viking, a Gaul, a Pagan/Wicca, a Skyrim warrior, a Briton, a Saxon, a Pict, blah, blah, blah, etc. etc. and if you look at many… Read more »
Crom Ag Siúl Ireland’s ‘Culture Night’ kicks in tonight (depending on what part of the planet you’re on) and its very cool to see Macnas running the giant Crom through the streets of Athenry (with drummers and assoicated escorts). I have to admit, the staggering array of events on Culture Night is probably the one… Read more »
This is the location of Nead an Iolair, down on the Beara Peninsula. The local story is that when Domhnall Cam Ó Súilleabháin departed on his mid-winter flight north to Breifne, he left his wife and child in the care of a trusted captain. Through the stark and hungry days of winter, unable to leave… Read more »
I took some time out yesterday from my current projects to play around with various concepts for ‘Liath Luachra: The Hungry People‘ (and, sorry, I won’t get to writing that until mid- next year at the earliest). The previous book in the series left a number of unanswered questions and unresolved plotlines that I’ll be… Read more »
This murky image was taken at Uaimh na gCait (often bastardised into English as Oweynagat) located at Cruachain in Roscommon and its one of the more famous ancient ‘crossing points’ to the Otherworld – a list predominantly derived from literary (i.e. not historical) sources. The site is definitely worth a visit as long as you… Read more »
Despite a measure of artitistic self-indulgence, I’ve actually come to enjoy Hugo Pratt’s books (some of them at least) but his representation of Ireland during the war of independence is amusingly uninformed. When his laconic anti-hero (the nautical Corto Maltese) ends up in Ireland, he meets the hilariously named ‘Banshee O’Danann’. I sometimes wonder whether… Read more »
Now that I’m back in the office, I’ve started work on ‘FIONN: The Betrayal‘ – the fifth book in the Fionn mac Cumhaill Series. At this stage, this is intended to be the second last book in the series. The current chapter one (these things tend to change) involves a conversation around a game of fidchell between Demne… Read more »
My first encounter with Reefer and the Model (Joe Comerford’s independent thriller and Ireland first arthouse ‘western’) was in 1989 when I moved to France. Moving around the city, I was surprised to discover several posters advertising an Irish comedy-thriller that consisted of an odd ‘line -up’ style photo displaying a priest, a bearded woman,… Read more »
An ‘early medieval batte scene’ from Polish artist Aleksander Karcz. As a general rule, I tend to avoid large scale battle scenes in my books, except where they’re the culmination of some important plot point or otherwise a necessary contribution to the story I’m writing. Fantasy entertainment has probably set a few unrealistic expectations when… Read more »
