‘Feel-good' Limerick writer pens first book

A KILTEELY native has published his first collection of short stories.

With Letters From an Irish Hearth, Pat Green delves on themes of birth, death, marriage and love through 32 stories.

Set in various locations across Ireland, the stories are from the past and capture some aspects of life which have been lost, such as customs and turns of phrase.

Originally from Limerick, Pat Green has lived in Brooklyn, New York, since 1990.

Pat, who described himself as a “feel-good writer,” brings to life a quaint old world where people still write letters, wait for a call at the village phone box, come over unannounced for tea, or just sit with each other in the face of tragedy.

Speaking of the timing of this collection, the author explained: “This book has been a dream of mine for well over 50 years. It all started out with writing pen-pal letters, but storytelling was always a gift that came easy for me.”

His favourite story in the book is titled A Small Lifetime.

“I think lots of us knew elderly women like Kate while we were growing up all over Ireland in the 60s and 70s. These were strong women who lived alone and they took the full brunt of life's hardships, and carried on without ever once complaining.

“Kate will always be very near and dear to me. She is a reminder to me every single day that no matter how hard life can get for us, we have to always find a reason to find a little happiness in our life,” commented Pat.

Is it 32 stories for 32 counties?

“I never meant for there to be 32 stories in the book. After showing it to a friend of mine, he made the suggestion for it having a story for each county in Ireland. My stories always travel here as whispers to New York, from home - and home is always Kilteely,” he said.

Recently, Pat returned home to spend time with his father in Kilteely and to meet up with friends. Later on this year, the author

will be doing a book tour to promote his collection of short stories.
Letters From an Irish Hearth is available on Amazon.