Mayo based authors debut novel launched at Linenhall

The launch of Mayo based author's debut novel took place in Castlebar at the weekend.

The launch took place at Castlebar’s Linenhall Arts Centre, a venue not unknown to the author Anne Walsh Donnelly. 

Her play, 'My Dead Husband’s Hereford Bull', was performed there in 2022.

The official launch of Anne novel ‘He Used To Be Me’ took place in the same town the book is set, Castlebar, after the book hit the shelves earlier this month.

Alannah Hopkin from the Irish Examiner called the debut ‘ impressive’ and said it was a ‘highly original, written in vivid, memorable prose’ using whatever it takes (language wise) ‘to tell Matt’s story’.

“The piece has a strong physical presence that makes it feel built or constructed,” said Ms Hopkin. 

Both of the book's inspiration came from the town, with a project in the Linenhall in 2019 involving responding to a benchmark being the first.

The author previously told The Mayo News that a benchmark is not what you may think, but a carving of a crow's foot in the wall of Glenn hall.

“When I was asked to write a piece on it, what came to my mind was I saw a man looking for claws of jackdaws, and they had jumped off the walls in Castlebar,” said the Castlebar author. 

An ATU Castlebar building that was once a psychiatric hospital also provided inspiration for the story. 

“That kind of was an inspiration, too, in terms of wondering how the patients got there and what their history was and their life story,” she added.

The Mayo based author is no stranger to writing, beginning her journey twelve years ago, she has since written many published plays and poetry.

Kevin Powderly of Writing.ie said the story is ‘beautifully and imaginatively told, using language that is poetic and profound, yet is instantly accessible’. 

“He Used To Be Me” is now available in all good bookshops and online from the New Island website.