Off the Record! Authors with strong Limerick connections reveal their favourite holiday reads

From beloved winter tales, to which books they tend to put in their loved ones’ stockings, some well-known authors with Limerick connections share their favourite holiday reads.

BECAUSE of his wife, Anne Marie, author Donal Ryan associates John Harding’s novels with Christmas.

“My wife gave me a copy of One Big Damn Puzzler one year early in our marriage, and it became one of our favourite books, and one of the few we completely agree on. He’s a terrific and very underrated writer, really funny, warm and hopeful,” he said.

When it’s time to fill up stockings, the author turns to poetry.

Donal advised: “Poetry is a great gift. Mary O’Malley’s collection, Playing the Octopus, for example, contains the perfect Christmas poem, Peace Walk. It wasn’t specifically intended as a Christmas poem, but it’s a tribute to the great Amos Oz and an expression of a yearning for peace and understanding, making it the most Christmassy of poems in a way.”

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When Christmas is around the corner, Croom native and author Martha Begley-Schade, relies on Ireland’s Own, Christmas Edition.

“It has everything the heart desires to put you in the spirit of the season. From songs to recipes, to stories to traditions and historical facts at that time of the year, it’s an all-rounder, enjoyed by everyone in the family – for decades. Our Christmas wouldn’t be the same without it,” she said.

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Most years, Joseph O’Connor goes back to The Fourth Wise Man by Michel Tournier.

“I think it was originally written in French. It’s kind of a first person account of the legend of how there were three kings who went to Bethlehem. This is an account by the fourth King, who was there and who didn't make it into the Bible. It’s a beautiful novel, I love novels about journeys,” he said.

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Every year, writer Victoria Kennefick can’t help but return to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

“It is an indelible part of our modern understanding of Christmas, and every year I am moved and relieved by Scrooge's last-minute change of heart. It gives me hope for the year ahead, that real and meaningful transformation is possible,” she said.

Lastly, she turns to Patrick Kavanagh's 'A Christmas Childhood'. “I think it's important to leave room for loss and grief at the centre of the festivities, darkness makes the lights shine brighter”, she added.

At Christmas, Victoria and her sister buy each other books. “We love the classics at Christmas, Virginia Woolf is a particular favourite at the moment. I think I'll give her Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These this year, though, along with Seán Hewitt's brilliant memoir All Down Darkness Wide.”

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FOR University of Limerick’s lecturer, and poet, Eoin Devereux, James Joyce never fails.

“My favourite Christmas read is James Joyce's short story The Dead. Set on the Feast of the Epiphany, all I have to read is the line "snow was general all over Ireland..." and I am there in my imagination,” he told Limerick Live.

For the holidays, Eoin usually gifts The Old Limerick Journal. “Founded by Jim Kemmy and now edited by Tom Donovan, it continues to be a treasure trove of local history. It's a must at Christmas. I have also gifted the late Michael Curtin's hilarious novel The League Against Christmas,” he said.