Mayo author launches second novel

SET in rural Ireland, Mayo writer Martin Keaveney’s second novel, The Mackon Country, brings the reader on a fascinating journey through the life of bad-boy teenager Tommy O’Toole.

Tommy is a talented adolescent from a village at the centre of isolated bog swamps known as the ‘Mackon Country’. He lives in a mobile home with his father Joe who dreams of completing a half-built house in the field. Nights are spent with Uncle Midnight who plays poker while swilling Dutch Gold and recalling hero stories from his time in Lebanon.

When Dad gets caught up in a local ATM robbery, Tommy begins a descent into organised crime.

Keaveney’s first novel, Delia Meade (2020), was very well received, following on from the short story collection The Rainy Day (2018).

The Mackon Country is being virtually launched this week and copies are available to order at mayobooks.ie or you can pick up a copy at the Castle Bookshop in Castlebar.

A virtual reading will be available at the Castle Bookshop Facebook page from Wednesday, December 15.

Martin Keaveney’s short fiction has been published in many literary journals in Ireland, the UK and US. He has also written for the screen and his writing has been produced and exhibited at many international film festivals and on RTÉ.

An associate lecturer in Irish literature at NUIG, he also teaches creative writing online.

The Mackon Country is published by Penniless Press, Warrington, UK.