Billy O'Callaghan's new story for Spoken Stories on RTÉ Radio 1 is voiced by Pat Shortt - listen to Old Fires above.
Jackie Dwyer, a middle-aged man returns to his hometown he left years ago, desperate to escape its confines and the traumas that it held for him. He hopes to now find sanctuary there and perhaps face some of the demons that have troubled him. After stepping inside a local pub in the early afternoon, sitting there in the dark is Bríd, an old flame of his. Seeing her makes the years fall away before him, as what might have been comes to the surface...
About his story, Billy O'Callaghan says "It is one of rootedness and belonging to people and to places. It's about how we’re all a confluence of our pasts, how we’re shaped by all that went before for better or for worse".
Spoken Stories 2: Creatures of the Earth is a brand-new collection of 12 themed radio half-hour stories on RTÉ Radio 1, commissioned by RTÉ Arts and Culture from eminent Irish and Irish-based writers. The title Creatures of the Earth comes from a short story, as well as a short story collection by John McGahern.
About John McGahern's work, O'Callaghan says 'It has long inspired and influenced me, to a point where he has become one of my touchstones. I suppose it's because he is writing about those essential situations, conflicts and hopes, which provide the foundations to all our lives. Even if McGahern's Ireland was a while before my own, its shadows and echoes remain if we look and listen closely".
Spoken Stories 2: Creatures of the Earth, Sundays at 7.30pm on RTÉ Radio 1 or wherever you get your podcasts - listen to more from Spoken Stories here.
