The Seanachie of Inis Mór

John Carlyle, (Nee Conner O’Rourke) was born in Ireland but taken by his mother to Australia as a child after the sudden death of his father. Now aged 38, Conners’s life is in chaos; his wife has left him, his advertising agency is floundering, his creditors are threatening to bankrupt him, and he’s hearing poetic voices in his mind urging him to return to Ireland. At first he ignores these mysterious notions, but when he receives a letter from his grandmother saying that she’s dying, he relents and books a ticket to Ireland. On his arrival he learns that his grandmother has already died, leaving him a cottage and a dilapidated old sailing boat built by his grandfather. A mysterious old seafaring man appears, offering to help him rebuild the boat, and as he teaches Conner the art of boatbuilding, the old man recounts stories of the deep sea sailors of Inis Mor, of the Selkies, (the Seal people) and of Conner’s father, Con Rua O’Rourke, who was a well known Seanachie. (Irish storyteller) ‘Seanachie’ is set against a backdrop of one of Ireland’s wildest and most beautiful places. It has an earthy, Irish essence, dialogue that pulls you in, a towering mentor figure, a unique plot, a powerful subliminal message, and characters you’d be on the lookout for if you ever decided to visit the Island of Inis Mor.