Daily Debuts – Dara Waldron & Neil Tully with Niall MacMonagle
Date: Friday 29th May 2026
Venue: Listowel Arms Hotel Main Room
Time: 1 PM
New Journeys from East Clare to New Ross
Two debuts, two writers who explore very different yet deeply human forms of tension and connection in Irish life. Dara Waldron, author of A Sheepdog Named Oscar, is a reflective memoir following his journey through grief and healing in rural Clare, where rescuing a border collie becomes a source of solace and renewal and an exploration of the unspoken understanding between human and animal.
Neil Tully’s The Visit transports readers to 1963 New Ross on the brink of JFK’s historic visit, weaving a tense story of ambition, frustration, and consequence in a small-town community. Sergeant Jim Field feels a guilty paternalism for Patrick Hatten, a young man struggling to find a job, a life and a purpose. Both are used to being on the fringes but while Jim is a romantic with bad health and regret, Patrick is full of anger and action, and his actions could have devastating effects.