I dtír mhilis na mbeo ní mar a shíltear a bhítear i gcónaí. An é sin an Pápa a fheicimid ag comhrá le beirt bhuachaillí óga le linn a chamchuairt ar Éirinn in 1979? Nó an cuairteoirí ó phláinéad eile iad siúd atá ag caitheamh a gcuid laethanta saoire cois trá? Tá pearsana sa chnuasach seo ag fás aníos is ag teacht in inmhe. Tá carachtair eile ag druidim le saol na díchuimhne agus speabhraídí na seanaoise ag breith orthu. Searbh í ar uairibh, ach ní mór dúinn rince go clabhsúr mar sin féin, i dtír mhilis seo na mbeo.

Foilsíodh scéalta le Colm Ó Ceallacháin in Comhar, Feasta, Southword agus gorse, agus tá duaiseanna Oireachtais buaite aige ar chuid díobh sin. Bhronn an Chomhairle Ealaíon dámhachtain air in 2013 i Litríocht na Gaeilge. Is é I dtír mhilis na mbeo a chéad chnuasach gearrscéalta.

I dTír Mhilis na mBeo (‘In the sweet land of the living’) is Colm Ó Ceallacháin’s first collection of short stories. In this sweet land we meet young and old struggling with the tribulations of life. All is not as it seems. Is that the Pope we see waiting for two boys during his papal tour of Ireland in 1979, and could those seaside visitors be aliens from another planet? The characters in this collection are growing up and coming of age, but they are slipping into oblivion too, through the fog of old age and delirium. We are continually being spirited from this life, but in one story it is the letter ‘i’ itself which is kidnapped, to return with a vengeance in the following tale. Hard though it may be at times, we must carry on to the bitter end, in the sweet land of the living.

Colm Ó Ceallacháin has had stories published in Comhar, Feasta, Southword and gorse, and was awarded an Arts Council bursary in 2013.

City Library Thur 20 Apr 17.00 – Free but booking is essential
Máistir-Rang sa scríbhneoireacht i nGaeilge le Colm Ó Ceallachain agus baill de chuid Peann & Pár – grúpa scríobhnóirí lonnaithe sa leabharlann.

City Library Thur 20 Apr 18.00 – Free
Seoladh leabhar I dTír Mhilis na mBeo

Advertisement