April’s Irish Heritage meeting saw Birmingham author Ann Cullen talk about the story and inspiration behind her latest book Deceit and Settling in the West.  It was a very interesting session, where Ann spoke about her childhood move from Galway to Birmingham, her journey from Copywriter at the Birmingham Post and Mail to a creative writer, her sources of inspiration and how she is working to overcome a current case of writer’s block. A video of her talk is above, and below is Irish Heritage Vice Chair John Macintyre’s review of the evening:

Authoress Awakened

Salthill in Galway

The April Event of the Birmingham Irish Heritage Group presented local author Ann Cullen who read extracts of her latest novel – Settling in the West. This insightful novella is about two Birmingham Irish daughters who swapped urban Erdington for rural Galway and described their marriages to Galwaymen. It deals with their reactions to living in an ancient environment, where local customs persist, such as the lighting of a huge bonfire on Midsummer’s Eve – St Johns Night in June.

Settling in the West also entailed an exorcism of a sad spirit – Cath, who had been wrongly convicted of sorcery in 1692. Her only crime being an old woman in the woods, using herbs for healthy concoctions, but this was enough to have her hanged in the extremely unforgiving and fearful 17th century.

Ann Cullen fielded several questions about her Novella, especially concerning the Midsummer’s Eve bonfire, which many people agreed was an intrinsic part of rural Ireland today, where Christianity and the old pagan customs combined.  Sagacious Sammy from Belfast remarked that the Irish Church had hijacked the old ways and incorporated them into its own beliefs.

A storm in Salthill

Mike Walsh asked her inspiration for her story, to which Ann replied it was based on her two daughters who enjoyed Salthill childhood holidays, and decided to revisit Galway where they met a couple of gorgeous Galwaymen and married them, and that Cath had been haunting rural Galway from 1692 until a recent exorcism. Ann Cullen was also questioned about the Evil Martha in her second story Deceit, which chronicled a Maniac Murderess in Meadowfield. She replied that thankfully it was mainly fiction, but also based and her experiences as a copywriter for the Birmingham Post and Mail where she had encountered all walks of life.

Irish Heritage Events are held one the first Wednesday evening of every Month upstairs at the luxuriously appointed Irish Centre in Digbeth Birmingham. Doors open from 7pm for a fresh exciting Event which commences at 7.30 pm. Complimentary Beverages and Biscuits are served afterwards from around 8.30 pm, and the general public are very welcome, so bring your friends.

Sean Mac An T – Saor