By Damien Maher
Well-known Mullingar journalist Ronan Casey will be formally introducing his new book, ‘Medium-Sized Town, Fairly Big Story’, to local people in The Greville Arms Hotel on Thursday evening of this week, 20 November. TV and radio personality, Hector Ó hEochagáin is officially launching the amusing publication at 7pm.
Already a national best-seller, ‘Medium Sized Town, Fairly Big Story’ is a hilarious collection of the best stories and headlines from Ireland’s local newspapers. Many stories from Westmeath feature in the book, including that of the ‘Woman fined for driving with onion ring’, ‘Cow gives birth to two calves of different breeds’ and ‘Farmer refuses to plough field after he sees ghost’!
Where Ronan got the motivation from is simple, really.
“Our house was full of papers growing up and my father (Seamus Casey, who was Joe Dolan’s manager for 47 years) had a massive interest in them. There’d be a rush to read Con Houlihan first every evening and on Sunday the papers were everywhere, but on Wednesday peace reigned as we had a local paper each,” he explained.
Casey, who has also carved out a career in broadcasting and has a weekly slot every Friday morning on TV3’s ‘Ireland AM’ show, has a nose for a story and his enthusiasm is infectious. He has been described as the king of local news and this book certainly does justice to what is more than just a career.
“These stories may not make national headlines, but they are the lifeblood of local communities and the role of the local paper, in that context, cannot be understated. I’ve no doubt people will enjoy reading these wonderful, quirky tales of real life in our amazing little country,” he added.
Ronan’s good friend, Hector Ó hEochagáin, describes the book as a “window on the real soul of Ireland, a snapshot of the way we were, the way we are and, hopefully, the way we always will be.” He will be present at Thursday’s Mullingar launch and along with the author himself, will sign copies on the night.
Casey joined up with the Meath man when ‘Breakfast with Hector’ was launched on RTÉ’s 2FM in 2010. At its peak the national breakfast show attracted close to 200,000 listeners, and Casey believes it has never been adequately replaced by 2FM. Ronan was snapped up by TV3 when the radio show ended. Hector is currently preparing a new TV series and is looking forward to coming to Mullingar to meet his ‘soldiers of the dawn’.
Ronan has been working in journalism for almost two decades and is currently working with the Westmeath Topic. His brilliant biography of the late Joe Dolan (written for Penguin Ireland in 2008) was a best-seller and already his latest publication is at 24 in the Irish bestsellers list. Good sales this week will hopefully see the Mullingar man in the Top 10 which means greater national distribution. the book is on sale online too, and is on digital platforms such as iTunes and Kindle. Ronan lives in Mullingar with his wife, Deirdre, and two children, James and Emily.
In ‘Medium Sized Town, Fairly Big Story’ you’ll find the stories that really matter to Irish people. Our famous wit and charm is evident in every headline and the book is surely a must for every Christmas stocking this year. A personal favourite is the one on the man who drinks a pint in court! Yes, it could only happen in Ireland and it’s recorded on page 54 of Casey’s hysterical publication. ‘Man drinks pint in court – judge calls him to the bar’ is the very apt heading.
Thursday’s launch is at 7pm in the Greville Arms Hotel, Mullingar, and everyone is welcome. Books will be on sale from Stella Lynch and Dor Shaw of Just Books on the night.
‘Medium Sized Town, Fairly Big Story’ is published by Gill & Macmillan priced at €10.99.
