Tuam’s Unsung Gothic Writer

I was raised in the town of Tuam in Co. Galway, which has a vibrant newspaper called the Tuam Herald. Several months ago I was interviewed by journalist Mary Ryan for a feature, and to my delighted surprise they gave me a double-page spread in this week’s issue, with the title ‘Tuam’s Unsung Gothic Writer‘.

I’m terrible at publicising my work so it was wonderful to get this acknowledgement in a local paper. Much of my writing is published outside Ireland so I remain off the radar in the general literary scene here. A big shout-out to family friend Sr Agnes Curley for alerting the Herald to my work, which resulted in the article. I always appreciate my champions!

Mary requested a ‘Gothic-style’ photo to accompany the piece (and with lockdown I couldn’t meet their photographer). So I took the accompanying photo on a wet and windy autumnal evening, with twilight pressing in, at a nearby ruined church and graveyard. I had very little time due to the inclement weather and encroaching gloom so it was a bit of a miracle to shoot a decent picture.

You can make it on the international scene but nothing gets parents’ hearts pumping with pride more than a piece in the town’s newspaper. During my call to my Mom for Mother’s Day she informed me of a list of relatives who had been sent copies of the article!

My deep gratitude to the Herald and Mary for the profile!