Book launch: 'Second Chance & Other Stories' by Liam Horan
The event will include a reading by Liam Horan and an interview with the author, conducted by Pat Conway
About the author
This is Liam Horan’s debut collection of short stories. He lives in Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo, with his wife Noreen and their dog Harris. He is a former journalist who worked in a variety of publications, including as Gaelic Games Correspondent of the Irish Independent (1995 to 2000). He is the creator of the Championship Man series of essays on RTÉ Radio One (Drivetime and Countrywide programmes). He is currently employed by the Western Development Commission on the ConnectedHubs.ie project, and is also the proprietor of Slí Nua Careers, a career training agency.
About the collection
In this collection of 15 stories, the concerns of someone moving through the rough and the smooth of middle age come to the surface – the loss of central figures in your life, the effort to place in context your existence thus far, the nostalgia for days that can’t return and the looming shadow of your own mortality.
Horan’s engaging characters range from the mild to the provocative. They nudge you with their messages of self-realisation, optimism and quiet acceptance as they navigate real-life dilemmas: the Spanish man returning to the Irish city where he met the love of his life, the journalist retracing old steps after the death of a long-lost friend, the woman breaking free of a coercive partner to rediscover her self-worth, the sports star redefining her relationship with her sport and herself, the father for whom the break-up of his daughter’s marriage sunders his fulfilling friendship with his son-in-law and the widower venturing out into the world again.
It is a collection that deals with change. In prose that is thoughtful and measured, and in west of Ireland settings, the journeys the characters make are both real and metaphorical.
Location: Festival Dome, Bridge Lane, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, F23 PN20
Time: 8pm
Booking info: All events at this year’s festival are on a first come, first served basis. As some venues have limited availability, we'd recommend arriving early to secure a seat. All events are free of charge.