I lived in Cork city in 1970s… and set my novel in that era

The late 1970s were a transient time in my life. I travelled to Ireland from the UK on a whim and lived in Cork city for three years.

I loved the city, Ireland, and the laidback but still confident attitude to life. An attitude which still prevails today, all these years later.

Now I have published a novel which is set in Cork in that decade.

Called Straad, it is a darkly humorous story of living, longing, and dying, questioning commitment and desire.

The main character, Straad, is far from being biographical, and the other characters are all fictional, as is the Republican’s Arms pub in the plot (unfortunately).

However, some parts of Straad’s life are similar to my own. Was it…