Literary luminaries for bookstore readings

Kells may have had its literary event with the Hay Festival, but this week sees a literary gathering in Navan, when a number of high profile writers and poets take part in readings in Old Corn Market.
Donal Ryan, Peter Fallon, Celine Kiernan and Tom French will be giving short readings on Thursday  night to mark the official opening of Blackbird Books, the brainchild of Navan couple Shane Breslin and Lorraine McKeever. As well as the local community, in the short time since it has opened, the shop has already proved to be a haven for visitors to County Meath.
A general interest bookstore, Blackbird Books offers new and second hand books over two floors, and also specialises in quality cards and gifts while an in-house coffee shop serves speciality teas, coffees and treats. Local is at the heart of everything, with a range of local interest books such as ‘The Field Names of County Meath’ and Oliver Coogan’s ‘Politics and War in Meath’ proving popular, coffee supplied by Ashbourne-based Ariosa Coffee and baked treats by Bakealicious in Bohermeen.
Blackbird Books also offers a book ordering service, sourcing newly-released or hard-to-find books for customers, and aims to become a creative hub for Navan and surrounding areas, with a number of literary, arts and crafts events planned over the coming months.
“It has been incredible,” says Lorraine McKeever. “In the first eight weeks we’ve had tourists from South Africa, Australia, America, Canada, Spain, Switzerland and Germany, as well as lots of people from the UK. Whenever we travel we invariably end up in the bookshop, whether it’s Shakespeare & Company in Paris or Foyles in London or small local bookshops in any town or village.
“There’s no better place than a good bookshop. Every town is a better town with a bookshop. They’re vibrant, creative places to be, and we firmly believe books - real books, that you can hold and feel - are good for the mind.
“Obviously it’s not easy, with the internet and the Kindle and Amazon. But we went into this with our eyes open, and we feel that if this is an economic recovery, one of the main characteristics of it is an appetite for local business and for indie shops, which give special character and flavour to a place. We’ve been absolutely thrilled with the welcome we’ve received over the past few weeks.”
With two children aged six and three, Lorraine and Shane were always intent on forging a strong reputation in children’s books, and ‘The Nest’, Blackbird Books’ dedicated children’s book area, is a haven for parents and children of all ages, with new and classic children’s picture books and readers for all ages.
Just two months in business, Shane says that during that time “we just got on our feet, figuring out what we we’re doing right and what we we’re doing wrong,” Blackbird Books is celebrating an official launch with the literary luminaries all giving short readings on Thursday, 9th July.
Details of a programme of summer events will also be announced on the night, while there will also be a dedicated children’s day on Saturday, 11th July.
Donal Ryan, from Nenagh, Co Tipperary, won the Irish Book of the Year and Guardian First Book award for ‘The Spinning Heart’ in 2013 and his second novel, ‘The Thing About December’, was also a bestseller. His first collection of short stories, ‘A Slanting of the Sun’, is published later this year.
Peter Fallon doubles as a renowned poet and the publisher of the Loughcrew, Oldcastle-based Gallery Press, which has published several of Ireland’s leading poets of the past half-century, including Seamus Heaney, Derek Mahon and Paul Muldoon. Peter’s most recent collection, the critically acclaimed ‘Strong, My Love’, was published in 2014.
Celine Kiernan, based in Virginia, Co Cavan,is a writer of young adult fantasy novels. She has published five novels: the ‘Moorehawk Trilogy’, the CBI Book of the Year award-winning ‘Into The Grey’ and last year’s ‘Resonance’, which follows the fortunes of two immortals in 1890s Ireland.
Tom French, who works in the Meath Library Service, has published three collections of poetry: ‘Touching The Bones’, ‘The Fire Step’ and last year’s ‘Midnightstown’. One of his poems, ‘Night Drive’, has been included on the English A Level curriculum as part of an anthology of winners of the Forward Prize, which Tom won for Best First Collection in 2001. The launch evening takes place on Thursday 9th July from 7.30pm.