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The 2018-21 Laureate for Irish Fiction, Sebastian Barry has won a plethora of prizes, including the An Post Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year for The Secret Scripture in 2009, and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. His latest novel, Old God's Time, is about what we live through, what we live with, and what may survive of us. It is shortlisted for Eason Novel of the Year 2023.
Tell us a bit about your latest novel?
Essentially, Old God's Time is a book about survival, or trying to survive. Tom Kettle, retired Garda, is a sort of Irish Job. He has been through a great deal and his deepest intention is to survive, especially now he is in retirement. The book is about his courage and his radiant self.
Where did the inspiration for this novel come from? What is the story behind its conception?
Tom lives in the mid-Nineties in a lean-to flat in Queenstown Castle in Dalkey, where indeed as a small boy I lived for a while with my grandfather and my mother and sister. I glimpsed such a man there, solitary and seemingly contented, in his bare room. All these years later, he seemed a dark figure that I was passionately interested in illuminating, if I could.
What do you hope readers will take away from your narrative?
That every living person has a story, whether you know it or not. Be kind to everyone, for they are likely to be angels and gods.
How does it feel to be on this shortlist amongst so many other brilliant authors?
As laureate for Irish fiction for a few years, I was constantly bowled over by all the brilliant new voices, and the continuing achievements of more established and veteran writers, and this shortlist continues to speak to that. It is a sign of the bounty of these times that there could easily have been other very strong new books added to the list, for instance, recent novels by Nicole Flattery, Darragh McKeon, and Megan Nolan.
Ireland is a literary powerhouse. Why do you think this is?
We are a small country with a good education system, and, these days, very strong support for writers, including merciful tax measures and acute and dynamic interventions by the Arts Council and other bodies. Writers are respected and readers are up for the challenge even of uncomfortable truths. We must always acknowledge the spiritual and economic championing of Irish writers that also occurs among British and US publishers, as well as the astonishing ecosystem and powerful solar system created by Irish publishers. To make a living as a writer is supremely challenging; the Irish book trade is actively and intuitively supportive of new Irish books, which is very unusual. But also, there is a vein of giftedness in Ireland that is hard to explain exactly but always worth celebrating. Perhaps we can allow the mystery.
Who are your favourite Irish writers?
I was a devotee of the work of Jennifer Johnston when I was a young writer. She has been a guide and a lodestar to many writers. I have been delighted and privileged to know many of the current writers and have always noted their kindness, friendliness, and, happily, their wonderfully egalitarian attitudes.
What An Post Irish Book Awards shortlisted book is next on your to-be-read pile?
There is a great pull in Paul Murray's The Bee Sting which I hope to read soon. Also, I think Oein deBhairduin - represented here by a children's book, The Slug and the Snail - has genius as a writer and deserves to be nationally cherished.
Explore the Eason Novel of the Year Shortlist here.