Launch of ‘Our House, Delirious’ New Prose and Poetry Book by Cahir Writer, Margaret Galvin published by Revival Press, Limerick. 

Join a Celebratory Evening of Story Telling and Music

Cahir House Hotel, Wed 28 June 2023, 7.30pm

Cahir writer, Margaret Galvin’s sixth collection, Our House, Delirious, published by Revival Press, Limerick will be launched at Cahir House Hotel on Wednesday 28 June at 7.30pm. The evening will feature short extracts, read aloud by Margaret Galvin and other guests, interspersed with musical entertainment. All are welcome.

Margaret Galvin’s previous poetry collection, The Finer Points, published in 2019 by Cahir Historical Society certainly put Cahir on the map. She follows now with another exploration of her native town, this time in poetry and prose, addressing a wide range of topics in an accessible and direct writing style. Margaret engages warmly and transformatively with the stuff of the everyday by inviting readers to see things in a new light, to look again at the overlooked and seemingly inconsequential.

Dr Richard Hayes, SETU describes the poems as ‘finely wrought,’ while the prose essays, most of which have been broadcast on RTE 1, Sunday Miscellany, are regarded as ‘skilfully constructed and utterly convincing.’ Dr Frances Glass, University of Melbourne, describes Margaret Galvin’s writing as ‘gritty and unsentimental’, while Wexford writer, AM Cousins praises its ‘humour, honesty and compassion.’

According to Melanie Scott, Arts Officer, Tipperary, Margaret Galvin ‘gives voice to our place (Tipperary) and its people.’ Paying tribute to Margaret Galvin’s work, PJ O’Meara, Cahir Social and Historical Society says, ‘In addition to being beautifully written, this book is an important record of our social history, an observation of Cahir and its people and indeed of an Ireland that has now largely disappeared. Margaret features a host of beloved, local characters from yesteryear such as Jim Haide, Jimmy Costigan, Ned Ryan, John Barrett, Lizzy Ryan of Kilcommon and Christy Purtill, Kilcommon, while the book is peppered with references to local landmarks and well-known businesses, including Cuck Hennessy’s shop, Gerry Condon’s Pub, the Railway Station, Castle Street Bus Station, the Army Barracks, Post Office and St Mary’s Graveyard.’

Readers everywhere but particularly in Cahir will identify with the many situations and characters Margaret addresses in these resonant poems and essays that offer moments of understanding and connectivity. Find out what happened when a shy man won the raffle in the Parish Hall concert, be inspired by Johnny Boyle’s lessons on life and read how Jim Haide was an unsuspecting accomplice in haute couture. Learn how plans were hatched in Gerry Condon’s pub and discover how Ned Ryan’s premises on Bridget Street served as a kind of local Carnegie Hall!

Admittance is free and everyone is warmly invited to join the celebrations. During the evening, signed copies of Margaret’s collection, Our House, Delirious, will be available for sale at €15. Post launch, copies may be purchased at Cahir Post Office, directly from Margaret or on-line at www.limerickwriterscentre.com

 

About Margaret Galvin

A native of Kilcommon, Cahir, Margaret Galvin has lived all her adult life in Wexford where she worked for the library service and as editor of Ireland’s Own. Her poetry and prose are well represented in literary journals and frequently broadcast on Sunday Miscellany (RTE Radio 1). She regularly facilitates writing workshops, especially for people with support needs. Our House, Delirious, published by Revival Press, Limerick is her sixth collection.