Newport author's short story collection

Newport man Pat Mcloughlin has just published his second collection of short stories, ‘From Head to Tale’.

The book was launched in Newcastle West, where Pat now lives, last Friday by Patrick O'Donovan TD, Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, in the Longcourt House Hotel.

Pat's first book ‘To Weave with Words’ was launched in 2018 and sold out within weeks. The proceeds from this book, like the previous one, will go to Friends of St Ita’s Hospital.
Some of the stories are based on Pat’s life experiences and all examine how we interact with each other – in good ways and bad ways. Pat has always been fascinated by the human condition and human relations – this comes across in all his stories – which are written in a conversational style that brings the characters to life and makes them very enjoyable to read. The books are available in Gully’s Supermarket, Newport.

“These are stories from a familiar world, peopled with characters that we feel we know or recognise,” wrote Norma Prendiville, Limerick Leader newspaper, in reviewing the book. “Pat has given them life on the page, with an unerring ear for dialogue that fairly clips along, and a sharp eye for human frailty and human resilience. Above all, there is warmth and understanding at the heart of these stories as well as humour.”  

Dr Paddy Fullam, lecturer at Mary Immaculate College: “As I read through this eclectic collection of short stories, I was reminded of Nelson Mandela’s assertion that he was an ordinary person who became a leader in extraordinary times. Pat’s stories invariably start with the ordinary, but the reader is skillfully and subtly led into the extraordinary and is held in suspense right to the final lines. This is the true measure of the gifted story-teller and Pat is very much at home in this literary pantheon.”