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Noel O’Regan is the recipient of a number of prizes, including a 2022 Arts Council Next Generation Artist Award. His debut novel, Though the Bodies Fall, is a hauntingly beautiful story of lost souls and lives on the edge, deftly navigating place and past. Though the Bodies Fall is shortlisted for the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year.
Congratulations on making the shortlist for Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year! How does it feel to have this recognition?
It feels quite surreal, in truth. For years I’ve followed the awards, watching writers I admire get the recognition that their work deserves. In particular, I’ve followed the Newcomer of the Year category, often imagining, in hope rather than with any expectation, being shortlisted for it one day. So it’s an absolute thrill to be in this position.
When did you begin your writing journey? And what has it been like?
It’s been quite a long journey, honestly. I had my first short story published all the way back in 2009, so this is something I’ve been working towards for a long time. As you can imagine, there were a lot of ups and downs on that journey, but the key, I realised, was to keep learning and growing as a writer (and reader). To persevere. And here I am.
Tell us a bit about your book?
It tells the story of Micheál Burns, who lives in his family’s bungalow at the end of a headland in Kerry. There are cliffs on their land that have been a black spot for those who have been struggling for generations. Micheál tries to help these ‘visitors’, as the family calls them, even as his siblings look to sell the land.
What were your aims and ideas when it came to this book? And what do you hope readers take away from it?
Its genesis came from thinking about the ways in which we bestow meaning on certain spaces, how these can then become places of pilgrimage. Wondering what it’d be like to live in such an area, how you’d be shaped by it. And how, in turn, you’d shape those who arrived there, looking for help.
In terms of what a reader will take away from it, that is ultimately for them to decide. Good writing – for me, at least – should pose questions of the reader, rather than forcing any sort of didactic statements upon them. That way the work will linger on in the readers’ minds as they come to their own conclusions about the book.
Ireland is a literary powerhouse - do you think it’s supportive of its new writers?
Overall, I do. Arts Council funding plays a big part in this, both in the supporting of artists through bursaries, but also through the funding of a thriving literary magazine scene in the country, which has helped to develop this current wave of new talent. And of course prizes, such as the Newcomer of the Year, also play a key role in supporting and promoting emerging writers.
What’s next for you?
I am aiming to have a draft of novel number two finished by early next year (I say this, too, in hope rather than with any expectation).
Who are your favourite Irish writers?
John McGahern, Claire Keegan, Sara Baume, Claire Kilroy, Mike McCormack, Adrian Duncan. I could keep going …
What An Post Irish Book Awards shortlisted book is next on your to-be-read pile?
A shout-out to Eimear Ryan’s The Grass Ceiling, which, admittedly, I have already read, but I’d encourage readers to search it out - there’s a reason why it’s been shortlisted in two categories in the An Post Irish Book Awards! As for what’s next on my reading pile, it’s Karl Geary’s Juno Loves Legs, of which I’ve heard great things.
Explore the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year Shortlist here.