Eoin Purcell
Thurles library is amazing
It sits just over the bridge and has the most incredible look, feel and atmosphere. A fountain throws shoots of water into the air midstream, there is a riverside walkway and the concrete and steel build looks so european and yet seems to belong in a town that has changed little in style since the GAA was founded in its famous Hayes hotel way back in 1884. You can read more about it here.
Buildings like this make me begin to think that Ireland really has come a long way since the 1980s. But the reason I am blogging about it has less to do with the fantastic building and much more to do with Clé’s Author Editor Library Tour.
I was least accomplished part of a trio of Mercier representatives there last night for one of two Thurles based events. Joe Ambrose has the misfortune to arrive on time (a slight mix up in times between Clé and ourselves) and the pleasure of speaking for 40 minutes solo before myself and Gabriel Fitzmaurice made an appearance.
Joe is the author of two books for Mercier, Dan Breen and the IRA and Seán Treacy and the Tan War (which has just been released and for some reason that has not fed through to our website!). Both are great stories as well as being passionately written and brilliantly researched. Dan Breen was one of our top selling books last year and I think Seán Treacy looks set to match it.
Gabriel is a poet of note and hails from the village of Moyvane near Listowel, the home town of the late and great John B. Keane and Writers Week (a point he made explicitly clear last night was that he was from the Listowel area but not from Listowel!!).
His most recent work for Mercier was Really Rotten Rhymes a book of poetry for children and one that I think will become a classic. it would be unfair not to mention that his poetry and writing goes far beyond children and he has been publish by over 10 publishers in his time.
It was a great evening and while before the event I was skeptical as to the value of such an evening, I thought that I would definitely do another one if a new season of events is planned for next year.
Special thanks are due to Anne-Marie Brophy and everyone at Thurles Library who put up with one wayward editor and made everyone feel exceptionally welcome there.
Still hearing the poems in my head today
Eoin
* Forgive the twee music please, its good music just not well matched I think, to the video.
Eoin Purcell's Blog 
I wouldn’t call that music twee, far from it in fact. It is a very nice Uilleann pipe and Irish traditional flute arrangement.
No, I’m with you Eoin, Twee. Nice in the bad sense.
Good music, wrong context.
Great building, a credit to the County Council there. In fairness there’s a few other county councils and city councils who could do with emulating this ….