John MacKenna launches story of loss, resilience & history
John MacKenna and his good friend Frank Taaffe who launched the Lock-Keeper's Wife
BOOK number 26 titled , from prolific wordsmith, playwright, novelist, short story writer and actor John MacKenna from Castledermot brought over 200 people to Athy Library when the compelling novel was launched by local legend and John’s friend, Frank Taaffe on Friday 27 February.
Before the crowds gathered in the wonderful building, the man who has been writing for over 50 years spoke to the about his latest contribution to the literary world.
John said: “ is a fiction novel set between south-Carlow and south-Kildare in 1950 and 1951 and is the story of a woman called Julie McDermot. At the beginning of the novel, Julie is being released from a psychiatric hospital in Carlow. Her husband had committed her there because she was menopausal.
"This followed the devastating loss of their two infant children and having spent three months there Julie returns to her lonely life along the canal and is haunted by grief and the aching absence of what might have been. The idea grew from a couple of things. I once read that Ireland had the highest committal rate of menopausal women during the 1910s to the 1950s. Women who were going through menopause were regarded as ‘acting peculiarly’ and were locked up.
"Sometimes they got back out and sometimes they didn’t, depending on whether somebody signed them out or not. The other part of the inspiration was that along the canal and the river Barrow there are lots of old derelict lock keeper’s houses.
"I’ve often wondered who lived there and what their lives were like while I was walking by. Between the article I read and the walks I took I got the idea for the life of not so much the lock keeper, who’s not a particularly nice man, but the lockkeeper’s wife and what her life might have been like and how she got through it.”
When asked about his long friendship with Frank Taffe, John said: “I’m as excited to have Frank here as I am about the book! ... Frank has been a fantastic friend for 40 years. We met in a little town in Wales called Hay-on-Wye, a book town with lots of bookshops. We were both there separately and met on the street. We didn’t know each other from Adam, but we got chatting and we’ve been friends ever since.
“Frank is a local historian and local solicitor and is the absolute driving force behind the Shackleton Museum. Without Frank that building wouldn’t be standing. There was a proposal in the 1980s to knock it down and turn it into a carpark. Frank fought tooth-and-nail against it. Then he fought tooth-and-nail to get the Shackleton Museum into it, then fought tooth-and-nail to get everything that’s there now. He really has changed the face of Athy for the better in many ways.”
Copies of (published by Lilliput Press) were on sale at the launch by team at Kilcullen's Woodbine Books and all 150 copies brought to the launch sold-out. Following over an hour of people queueing to have John sign copies, executive librarian at Athy Library Sandra Lewis opened proceedings stating John needed no introduction.
“Tonight’s launch ties in as an Ireland Reads event which is a national campaign to promote books, reading, writing and literature in all of its forms. John is a great friend of Kildare Libraries, and what better way to celebrate than to have the launch of John’s new book.
"I want to thank John, Frank and the library staff who stayed back this evening to make this wonderful event happen.”
Publishing manag
er with Lilliput Press, Stephen Reid spoke next. He said: “We are incredibly proud to publish John’s latest novel. We also published John’s great book titled Shackleton a number of years ago.
"I first encountered John in Maynooth 14 years ago during his creative writing course when I hadn’t a clue what I was going to do careerwise. John is a very influential character who has steered a lot of people towards writing books and towards all things literature.
“We are very proud of his book and what John explored in it through Julie McDermot’s life and the history of the incarceration of women, especially this week when we see the Taoiseach's apologies on institutional abuse. John has done very careful and gracious work in The Lock-Keeper’s Wife.”
Frank Taaffe was called upon to conduct the launch. Frank is known for his tireless, lifelong dedication to documenting, preserving, and promoting the town's social, architectural, and cultural history. This massive body of work serves as a living archive of Athy’s history while preserving stories of the people and the events that formed the community.
Frank said: “I have attended many events in this library. I must say that this is the biggest audience that I have ever seen here.”
Turning to John, jokingly he said: “And it’s all because of me John!”
Frank continued: “John is the most prolific author from South-Kildare that I have ever met. I haven’t read fiction for 40 years. Nowadays, I confine my reading to history, English social history, Irish History and English politics in the 1800s, but John is the one writer who grabs my attention. I have read all of his books.”
Frank went on to speak in-depth about John’s writings from his first published book titled published half-a-century ago in 1976, right up to giving a review (without spoilers) of . Frank spoke of the importance of John’s writings surrounding social historical issues, and he read several critically acclaimed comments by professional critics and reviewers from both Ireland and from abroad which were written over the decades.
While addressing the audience himself, John thanked everyone for attending. Clearly delighted to see such a huge audience, He said: “In the hour before the launch I got seven texts from people saying they couldn’t make it and I thought - Oh God! I don’t ever take things like this for granted. I really am grateful to all of you for being here this evening.
“I wish to thank the Kildare Arts Office, county librarian Gillian Allen, branch manager Sandra Lewis, the library staff members and Woodbine Books. I want to thank Lilliput Press, a small independent publisher for having faith in the book, I am very grateful. They did a beautiful production.”
John quipped: “It’s the kind of book that I’d buy myself if I didn’t write it!” The audience laughed and applauded.
John read the first few pages of and captivated everyone. During those timeless minutes while John was reading, a pin dropping would have been mistaken for thunder - but wouldn’t have distracted anyone from the storyteller even if one had dropped.
Renowned writer John MacKenna will conduct a creative writing workshop in Preston House, Abbeyleix, Co Laois in May with limited spaces. For more details check - Power of Words Events on Facebook.
is now available in all good book shops, online and from the publisher priced at €15.99.
