Photos : Pat Shortall
Father, Son and Brother Ghost, a memoir by Royal Oak, County Carlow based writer John MacKenna was launched at Athy library on July 11th. The book is John’s twenty-fourth publication and speaking at the event Dr John Macdougald outlined the story behind the book – an account of the author’s relationship with his father and brother, Jarlath, who died in 2005 of Motor Neuron disease, and an exploration of the relationships with a family – for better and worse.
The Kilkenny Observer Newspaper was delighted to be in attendance and how lovely it was to see so many Kilkenny writers, friends and supporters of John there on the night.
The library – a beautifully converted Dominican Church – was packed for the occasion and the speakers were introduced by Angela Keogh of The Harvest Press, publishers of the book.
John MacKenna read from Father, Son and Brother Ghost and talked about the sometimes fractious relationship he had with his father but how, as he grew older, he began the process of recognising that his father’s life had been a tough one and that the roots of much of their disagreements lay in his own lack of comprehension of those harsh times. The reading was followed by an interesting Q and A session, led by Mario Corrigan of the Kildare Library Service.
Music on the night was performed by Katie Jacques and Matt Miller who sang two songs which feature in the book – Krista Detor’s ‘Icarus’ and Mario Lanza’s ‘Golden Days.’
Among those attending the launch were singer Jack L; RTE producer Kevin Byrnes; former Late Late Show producer John Masterson and literary agent Jonathan Williams.
The book, which has been featured on the Brendan O’Connor Show on RTE and in the Irish Times is available from the Book centre in Kilkenny or online from theharvestpress.ie
