People (some) write or produce what they think will sell. DâUnbelievables made a huge success of that exact niche and Shortt carried it in to other areas successfully enough. Itâs been bastardised since, in to all that other shite you alluded to
Shortt is a well spoken man, a fabulous musician and great company, as much as you can tell from a few nights in a bar. And he produces absolute horse shit like Kilanskully etc because he knows it will sell and he is a clever man.
AlasâŚ
Niall was my English teacher. He tortured us endlessly.
Will check some of these out. I still think youâd have a flair for it yourself. Seriously. The ever changing dynamic of this sad but progressive little country and its fucked up and beautiful people is always worthy of accute and precise prose. The greatest Irish novel remains to be written
Munnelly is a great sort. Iâve met him a few times through a mutual friend.
Whatâs your opinion on Donal Ryanâs writing?
I actually have nothing against Pat Shortt (aside from him playing to the gallery with that jersey âshiteâ). DâUnbelievables was quite good, certainly early on, and parts of Killinascully are well observed. I am well aware that PS is a smart cookie in most ways.
To be fair, Garage is a haunting film and PS is superb in it. That scene with the horsesâŚ
Hallâs Pictorial Weekly was brilliant in the 1970s and the 1980s. True low key sophistication. Late last year, with a few younger friends in a pub, I watched three episodes of HPW cast off YouTube. Great fun. The episodes were still fresh and my friends, too young for the 1980s, were amazed at how good they remain. Father Ted probably came out of HPW.
Sneering at rural and provincial Ireland is ever the sure sign of a charlatan.
Did he�
Never met him. Do not even really know his background. Good writer, though.
Quite possibly⌠The greatest rural Irish novel, at any rate.
I should have allowed for a disclaimer for Joyce
up there with disco pigs for underrated Irish filmsâŚ
I call it torture he might have called it something else. Teaching or something⌠If im not mistaken he told us Seamus heaney was his English lecturer in queens
Digging.
I do not know Anthony except being on friendly Twitter terms. But I really admire his writing and the general go of him, his pride in his county and his background. What you say rings exact with me.
Donal Ryan⌠Quite liked his first two books. He brought something new in tone, fair play to him. But he has turned into a terribly slushy manipulative writer â playing the blurb game, seems to want to become Colum McCann â and is now predictable. From a Low and Quiet Sea is awful bilge altogether.
Have not read his latest and might not bother. If you are going to write about Travellers and refugees and racism and so forth, you need to be extremely careful that you are not, at some level, bullying the reader. A close friend of mine works with DR. He likes him in personal terms but says DR is utterly driven cracked by even mild criticism of his work. So DR is not going to improve.
Yes. Could not agree more. Disco Pigs comes from the same wondrous Cork that gave us Five Go Down To The Sea?, Mick Lynch and the Sultansâ âLetâs Go Shoppingâ.
Was not even aware he was at QueenâsâŚ
He wasnât, just read it on wiki, must have been ucd
Carysfort College, no? Teacher training? Heaney was there.
Not sure. But im certain he told us heaney was his lecturer.
Heaney was every English teachers lecturer in Ireland donât cha know