Teach an Gheafta by Cathal Ó Searcaigh

This is the story of a young man and the fateful summer he spent in the Gate House in Mín na Móna in the Donegal Gaeltacht as he tries to make sense of his complicated life and find his own way. You won’t easily forget this summer in Mín na Móna. In this novel brim-full of uplifting humour, of compassion with one’s fellow man and with nature, of flashes of insight and inspiring ruminations. A witty style, a thought-provoking story.

For over forty years the great Donegal poet has left his mark on Irish literature. This new work is no exception to the rule, the first substantial novel from Donegal since the time of the Ó Grianna brothers. The same clearcut prose practiced by them is presented of us again with poetic care by Ó Searcaigh; the language of the everyday in the mouth of a poet. Their mastery of tongue has found an heir.

It is a long time since we’ve had a novel from the Donegal Gaeltacht, and there is no doubt that this book announces the arrival of a new novelist in a direct line from the Mac Grianna brothers.

“One of the great joys of reading Ó Searcaigh ‘s writing is his mastery of the language, in particular his use of dialect, which transports the reader immediately to the mountainsides of Donegal. It adds a rich sonorous quality to all that vis heard or described and his wonderful descriptions of that landscape are matched by the exotic detail of Morocco….. There is a warmth […] which is for me the heart of the book. It allows a consideration of community and language change that is thoughtful and well integrated with the narrative.?

Hardback 

Pages 241