New novel launched in Dublin

MARY O Rourke was the guest of honour at the recent launch of a new novel written by a promising Irish author.

Set in contemporary Ireland

‘Valentia’ by Catherine Conlon follows the lives of the various members of the O’Sullivan family during a pivotal five-month period which marks a number of important transitions in all of their lives.

The main backdrop for the action is the remote and magically beautiful island of Valentia in Kerry, one of the most westerly points of the country.

Valentia is a readable, absorbing story with engaging, well-drawn characters in situations many of us, and women in particular, will be able to relate to.

While the author explores, with a light and often entertaining touch, some of the traditional territory and themes of

‘chick lit’ – such as romance, female friendships and family dynamics – the narrative also offers a deeper, more profound reflection on what is truly valuable in modern life.

In this era of widespread economic downturn and material hardship for so many people – which has hit Ireland particularly badly after so many years riding high on the Celtic Tiger – Valentia brings the reader back, time and again, to the core values of family, a sense of community and the need to belong. These, along with a profound, spiritual appreciation of the natural world, are the key features of the world view which the author proposes to us -one which is ultimately far more fulfilling and sustaining than the frantic and tireless pursuit of wealth and possession which has been at the heart of the recent financial meltdown.

Catherine has previously written

‘Sonas; Celtic Thoughts on Happiness’.

She lectures in Epidemiology in UCC. She lives in Cork and is married with four children.