Claire Kilroy interview - Best of Ireland

Claire Kilroy is basking in glowing reviews and award nominations for her first book in 11 years, Soldier Sailor. The book is a powerful examination of motherhood, taking the form of a monologue by Sailor to her son, Soldier. Now 50, the author is pleased with the book’s warm reception.

“Yeah, I was amazed actually,” she enthuses. “I had a baby 11 years ago and it was the first book since then. The story is about being the mother of a small child, so I didn’t expect it to get any attention, but it got great love from both genders, which I found very moving and it also made me hopeful.

“It’s so easy to dismiss a woman with a young ster being screamed at, and she’s got barf in her hair or whatever, so to have the book taken seriously and welcomed, was very affirming for me as a human, not just as a writer.”

“How the Irish navigate each other is very endearing to me and you notice it more when you’re away.”

More broadly, there has been a huge renaissance in Irish writing in recent years, with many homegrown scribes receiving international recognition.

“Oh, absolutely,” nods Kilroy. “It’s astonishing, everyone’s winning all the prizes they’re eligible for. Is it that we’ve suddenly gotten better? That I don’t know, but we’re certainly getting the love. Do I think we were all terrible writers 20 years ago? No, we were always a writing nation – once we were allowed to be educated!
“Another thing I noticed was that our children are the second best readers in the world. So in Ireland, there is a national value placed on the world of letters, otherwise our kids wouldn’t be the second best readers in the OECD countries. We are a nation that prizes the written word.”

Our keen interest in current affairs, as well as our affinity for storytelling and flair for humour, would all appear to contribute to Ireland’s famed literary output.

“It’s a very easy country to be in from that point of view,” says Kilroy. “Even getting on a bus, there may be some craic with the driver. How the Irish navigate each other is very endearing to me and you notice it more when you’re away. In other places, it’s not about having a laugh, you’re just moving through the world. Whereas here, there’s great interaction. You never quite know what will happen!”

A native of the Dublin’s Howth, where she still lives, Claire has a clear love of the seaside village.

“I’m a Howth girl,” she nods. “Probably even more so since Covid, I’ve learned that all I need is here – so long as there’s a 30-minute journey to the city centre, so I can get my fix of Dublin city, which I have a great love for too.”

These days Claire’s social circle largely encompasses other parents, and there are certain spots in Howth they particularly enjoy.

“There’s a few places, depending on the budget,” she notes. “The Howth restaurants are fantastic, they really are. The House is a place we’d hang out a fair bit. It’s in the village, a bit off the tourist deluge into the harbour, and it’s where our get-togethers tend to happen. If you’re going posh, there’s Mamó who have a place in the RHA as well.

Mamó

“Then there are other spots, like the Oar House. Those are places we tend to go when the tourists are not around. Howth is a big day-tripper place now, and you cannot get near anywhere on a sunny weekend. The traffic jams are pretty shocking, but it’s so very beautiful.”

There are also other local destinations Claire recommends.

“I also like Deer Park, and in Howth, there are a lot of megalithic remains,” she says. “I just find it so strange that it’s largely the same in the centre as it has been for centuries. Right now, I’m writing about Yeats, cos he lived here as a teenage boy. He sort of followed the same map I did. They were digging out the great elk – there’s one in the National Museum – because there’s so many traces of past civilisations here, and yet we’re here too.

Claire Kilroy

“I just find the area very electric. We haven’t tarmacked it the way we have flatter areas! We have a dolmen, St. Aideen’s Grave, a portal tomb that our ancestors believed was a portal to the other world. I find it very enhancing to be near it, knowing I’m following in those footsteps. At this time of year, the rhododendrons are out, so in behind Deer Park, it’s like a jungle.”

Naturally, certain spots particularly appeal to visitors.

“A lot of day-trippers and tourists will get dropped off at the Dart station, or the bus will go up to the summit, and you can do the Cliff Path, which is also outstanding,” says Kilroy. “We’re so blessed.

Howth

Doing that route, you circumnavigate the peninsula, except it doesn’t quite – it stops in Sutton and there’s a bus every two days that picks you up. It’s not that easy to do as a day-trip, because you just can’t get back, unless you’re willing to walk another two hours.

“One side is Dublin Bay, and the other is Lambay and Ireland’s Eye. I think if you walk from the harbour end to the summit, you can get a bus back. Another event to look out for is Howth Trad Fest. Howth Castle has hosted gigs too.”
Elsewhere, Kilroy is a big fan of homegrown writers, with John Banville a particular favourite.

“The National Library are holding events for the Booker winners, and I interviewed Banville,” she says. “He still stands up as one of, if not the greatest writer of our time. He’s a Howth man – he’s not from here, but he lives up the road from me. You see him walking around, and it’s life-enhancing to see great artists doing their shopping! In particular, the third novel in the Frames trilogy, Athena, is one of the greatest novels I’ve ever read.”

The National Library

Of course, Ireland’s incredible literary tradition is globally celebrated and a source of attraction for many tourists.

“When I think back to when I was a schoolgirl, even our geography book called us ‘the sick man of Europe’,” says Claire. “Because we’d always been poor. The point of dignity for me was the likes of Joyce, Yeats, Beckett or Kavanagh. You kind of cling to these people as evidence of your own self-worth.

“Certainly, my love and veneration of literature was linked to a sense of national dignity. Whereas now, we are a wealthy country, and we still reference literature as part of what makes us cultured and creative.”

• Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy is out now.