County Lines: A Portrait of Life in South Dublin County
ed. Dermot Bolger
New Island, 2006
Voices in the Castle
Queen Latifah's ass is seldom referenced at literary gatherings. Not so at Voices in the Castle, an afternoon event bringing down the house on the Fused*06 arts week organized by South Dublin County Council. Having attended few such readings and never in a legitimate castle, I arrived not knowing quite what to expect.
Immediately after calling the thirty literature lovers to their seats, emcee Dermot Bolger- proving himself once again the hardest working author in Ireland- turned the mic over to a two-man band whose guitars were sincere and whose lyrics were Latifah's ass-friendly.
When the applause faded from Rathfarnham Castle's high ceilings, Dermot Bolger related the highlights of Fused*06's past week. Special attention was focused on the launch of the book that arose from the writing workshops that he gave as SDCC's Writer-in-Residence. County Lines: A Portrait of Life in South Dublin County allows thirty-four contributing residents of Tallaght, Lucan, Clondalkin, Palmerstown, Templeogue and other surrounding towns to share their reminiscences, insights and poetry.
County Lines
Book fan that I am, a copy of County Lines found its way into my bag. As Dermot Bolger pointed out in his introduction, the collection is not intended as a complete social history of the land surrounding Dublin. Its anecdotes provide enlightening first-person accounts of a period of drastic change. Between 1960 and the present day, Ireland has transformed from a rural, isolationist, homogenous nation into a wealthy multicultural Celtic Tiger. The population has doubled. Entire new towns have sprung up. "In 19XX my new husband and I moved from our beloved home in Inner-City Dublin to the new estate way out in Y or Z," begins most County Lines accounts. Y or Z is inevitably a place that I, arriving here in the 1990's, have always considered an integral part of Dublin city. The true, human, Irish stories in County Lines provided a deeper understanding of this region.
The contributors are chiefly attendees from Dermot Bolger's writing workshops. As with the Streetwise collection edited by Neville Thompson, the fact that these are not professional authors lends an authenticity. I was impressed by the viewpoint and description of several shorts.
Eileen Casey
Two selections are available from local poet Eileen Casey. The title piece from her collection Seagulls is included alongside prose that brings the bleak 1980's back with immediacy and drama. "A Life in the Night" relates the years Casey worked as night packer in a local supermarket. Vivid language relives the hard work, cigarette break camaraderie and a few much-needed quid. Then there was the unforgettable night that masked raiders burst into the store, locked the women in an office and lifted thousands from the safe. Desperate times.
Colm Keegan
Young Clondalkin-based author Colm Keegan's account, " The Apology," begins like many in County Lines, with a baby pram. But this tale includes a crime twist, and Keegan recollects himself as " a young, dumb, ‘Where's-me-Mum' type of twenty-one" racing the buggy downhill with his toddler in his lap. " The Apology," is autobiography that reads like tight fiction, its sharp description portraying an underside of mitching school, drugs, nightclubs and punch-ups unseen in other accounts of these South Dublin suburbs. In this 1997 episode, Keegan is on his way to the Garda station to make amends with the officer he struck. It's strong material, one of the collection's finest. Keegan also presents several notable poems in County Lines.
Back to the Castle
After allowing County Lines and its local authors the proverbial spotlight, Dermot Bolger read a few short poems of his own. I'm clueless about poetry, so can only report that they were well received. One about buried secrets revealed on a golf course appealed to my Irish crime lovin' palate. Everyone clapped and Dermot legged it off stage. Up jumped Anthony Glavin.
Anthony Glavin
Like Kevin Stevens, Anthony Glavin is a fellow American whose writing talents are transplanted to Irish soil. His 1997 novel Nighthawk Alley is highly acclaimed. No copies were available for purchase and the title is unavailable in shop and online, sadly. Never fear, he has a short story in the forthcoming book of Irish Short Fiction edited by Dermot Bolger. The audience were treated to a different short that captured the Dublin setting in a grip strong enough to contain not only the bleedin' Northside but also badgers. Later we chatted about Bush-dominated Florida and a piece of journalism that Glavin wrote there during the 2004 election. But, I am getting ahead of myself.
Joseph O'Connor
Joseph O'Connor was the next man behind the podium. Tan from a year's visit to the States, he read a generous selection from his most recent novel. The Star of the Sea follows its central character from rural isolation of nineteenth century Ireland to Belfast and London and into the pages of Oliver Twist. The castle's stained glass blazed approval. The crowd loved it.
Asset
Dermot thanked everyone for coming. Guitars strummed up and the Fused*06 celebration of culture closed on the buskers' tribute to Queen Latifah's greatest asset. In accordance with Critical Mick convention, your humble book fan then hounded the gathered authors for their autographs. Well thought-out questions were prepared, of course, but the only conversation I could think to make on the spot concerned Tori Amos. Duh.
Everyone replied very graciously, then I ran away home to slowly read, digest and eventually report on County Lines: A Portrait of Life in South Dublin County. Anthony Glavin even replied to email correspondence.
Queen Latifah's ass was unavailable for comment.
Mick proudly presents a profile of Dermot Bolger on the DFA Guide to Dublin.
Damn did it take a lot of effort to keep this review zombie-free. One of my nutty ideas was hammering away on the front of my thick skull ever since the event.
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