Irish writing is so strong that it can feel like the country has all been covered, but in fact, there are so many gaps. The small west of Ireland cities and the working classes there have almost never appeared in Irish literature, simply because those communities were never in the way of producing books. Kevin Barry Read Quote
I go to Spain a lot, in winter, for a blast of sunlight to banish the blues brought on by the Irish greys and drizzle. I love the cities of the Spanish interior. Kevin Barry Read Quote
Get up, groan, write a bit, moan, eat breakfast, write some more, cycle my bike through the Sligo hills, make up country songs as I pedal along, sing them, have lunch, have a nap, groan, moan, write a small bit more, cook dinner, feed wifey, open a bottle, or several, slump, sleep. Kevin Barry Read Quote
I was a cub reporter on a local newspaper in Limerick city, and I used to cover the district court meetings. All of life passed through the Limerick courthouse. Misery, malevolence, the dark side of humanity… I tell ya, it made ‘Angela’s Ashes’ look like ‘The Wonderful World of Disney.’ Kevin Barry Read Quote
Frazzled and delirious, as I’ve just finished a new book of stories. I feel like Moses staggering down the mountainside with the tablets of stone. Kevin Barry Read Quote
The short story is a very natural mode of storytelling; most stories can be told quickly. I always think of them as like a tightrope walk – every sentence is a step along the rope, and you can so easily misplace your step and break your neck. Kevin Barry Read Quote
I was freelancing for years in Cork and around. I also wrote freelance pieces for ‘The Irish Times.’ Kevin Barry Read Quote
I think the language as spoken in Limerick and Cork has not really been written; ‘City of Bohane’ is a combination of the two. Bohane is a little kingdom. When I began writing it, I realised that it was in the future and that it was a place that didn’t care about anything that happened outside it. Kevin Barry Read Quote
I think journalism is useful training for a writer in the way it takes the preciousness out of the pragmatic side of the craft. Kevin Barry Read Quote
