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EchoLive.ie, 16 Jun
After his latest success with his book, Art Imitating Life Imitating
Death, Cork author Cónal Creedon tells AISLING MEATH “I love what I
do...”
Cork writer Cónal Creedon on striking gold at awards ceremony
Cónal Creedon signs copies of his book, Art Imitating Life Imitating
Death, with his faithful pet, Dogeen
Aisling Meath
CORK writer Cónal Creedon’s latest book, Art Imitating Life Imitating
Death, has just been awarded Gold for the European Non-Fiction section
of the prestigious Independent Publisher Awards - the IP Book Awards in
the USA.
His name will now be included alongside an impressive list of previous
IP award winners, including best-selling author Margaret Atwood, former
U.S Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, and Canadian Law Professor
Randal Graham.
The awards were established in the U.S to highlight and honour
exemplary books, which are selected from more than 5,000 titles.
The works are chosen from among an array of independent publishers such
as Oxford University Press, Yale University Press, University of
Washington Press, Stanford University Press, and The White House
Historical Association. Now, a book produced by Cónal’s own independent
publishing venture, Irishtown Press, based in Cork, has received the
highest accolade of them all - the Gold award.
A fantastic achievement indeed, and while Cónal was elated with the
announcement in late May, he is also characteristically modest about
his achievement.
“I love what I do, it’s only rock n’roll and I like it, as the old song
goes,” said Cónal.
So the fact that I can keep on doing what I do is the greatest reward
of all.
“Having said that, at a very basic level it’s always special to receive
encouragement. That sense of ‘Well done!’ and a slap on the back, be it
from friends or family or people I meet as I wander round the town, is
always heart-warming.
“Sometimes, I’m crossing Patrick’s Bridge and a taxi driver honks the
horn and gives me a thumbs up, or yells out the window to keep on doing
what I’m doing.
Like, how special, how privileged is that?
“Encouragement is always important, but on a deeper level I guess it’s
only human to wonder how my work is received and how it rates on a
competitive level, so it means an awful lot to me when a third party
endorsement comes in like this.”
Cónal Creedon’s award and his book Cónal Creedon’s award and his book
Art Imitating Life Imitating Death is Cónal’s personal exploration of
the short story Guests Of The Nation by fellow Cork writer Frank
O’Connor - a tale which has touched the hearts of many scholars in the
Irish educational system over the years as it was featured in the
textbook Exploring English and was on the syllabus for the state exam
the Inter Cert. now known as the Junior Cert.
The impact of Guests Of The Nation upon many teenagers reading it for
the first time was profound. It’s set against a backdrop of a deeply
perturbing period in the history of the Irish nation- the Irish War of
Independence - and examines a moral dilemma of vast proportions.
This impact was felt too by a young Cónal when he read the story for
the first time in his school textbook - “something abut that story just
stopped me in my tracks.” he recalls.
It tells of two young IRA volunteers, Bonaparte and Nobel, who are
guarding their captured enemies in an isolated rural cottage, two
British soldiers named Belcher and Hawkins.
Over time, a camaraderie unfolds between them as they enjoy cosy
evenings by the fire, playing cards and enjoying some lively banter.
The relaxing evenings come to an abrupt and horrific ending when the
lads are ordered to perform their duty, by taking Belcher and Hawkins
outside and shooting them dead as an act of reprisal.
In 2003, Cónal was commissioned by RTÉ to adapt Guests Of The Nation
for radio as part of the Frank O’Connor centenary celebrations, and
thus began his meticulous research into the background of the story. He
uncovered many fascinating details of real life events, which he
concluded may have been the inspiration for O’Connor’s story.
"Seduced by a narrative so deeply rooted in a culture, history and
landscape so familiar to me, I was captivated by this wartime parable,”
recalls Cónal.
He discovered that senior British officer Major Geoffrey Compton Smith
had been held hostage and killed in Donoughmore, Co. Cork, the
birthplace of O’Connor’s mother.
In 2012, Cónal was invited by descendants of the Donoughmore IRA to
visit the series of safe houses where Major Compton Smith had been
held, and concluded it was highly probable that Guests Of The Nation
was inspired by it.
His visit to Donoughmore that day had a profound effect on him.
It was a day where painful memories of generations past were laid bare,
and in some cases laid to rest.
He has given many public lectures and enjoys engaging with his
audience.
“Public lectures are always exciting, engaging and great fun. You never
know who’s going to turn up. At a lecture at the Crawford Gallery here
in Cork, a relative of the man who actually pulled the trigger and shot
Major Compton Smith came up to me afterwards to say hello.
“On another occasion, a granddaughter of Noble Johnson turned up, which
was really brilliant. She said my research had in turn encouraged her
to research her family, as during my research I had stumbled upon the
real Noble Johnson who may have been the inspiration for the fictional
character in O’ Connor’s story.”
As well as the inspiration drawn from the profound O’Connor story,
Cónal says his book would not have come about if it were not for three
other people who were instrumental in its conception.
“It all began on the cusp of Covid in January 2020 in Switzerland,” he
recalls “Dr Shane Walshe had invited me to present my lecture, ‘Art
Imitating Life Imitating Death’, at the Swiss Centre for Irish studies
at the University of Zurich and Zurich James Joyce Foundation for the
Irish Revolutionary Period Symposium.
“Then, following on from that, Dr Fiorenzo Fantaccini of Florence
University published the text in Studi Irlandesi, A Journal of Irish
studies by Firenze University Press.
The second part of the book was compiled by Dr Conci Mazzullo, of
Catania University, Italy, who conduced an extensive interview with me
on my work entitled The Joy Of Writing After 20 Years, which was
published in 2022 by Studi Irlandesi, a Journal of Irish studies by
Firenze University Press.”
This part of the book gives a fascinating insight into the writer
Cónal’s life and creative practice and the inspiration which he draws
from the streets where he lives in downtown Cork city which he
describes as “the Spaghetti Bowl of Streets” and from where his family
have traded for over a hundred years.
Cónal Creedon will be presenting ‘Art Imitating Life Imitating Death’
at the Maritime Hotel in Bantry on July 9 at 2.30pm as part of the West
Cork Literary Festival.
His book is available from Waterstones and Dubray books and
www.IrishtownPress.com
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