New urban fantasy novels are inspired by the streets of Cork city

Hyperboreans, by David Jordan (Beul Aithris €9.20)

A PUB crawl around Cork city in the 1990s might sound like an attractive proposition in its own right.

This, however, is an astral pub crawl. Not the sort involving seeing stars, but one which ventures into a supernatural realm where gods and ghosts meet for a pint and a chat with mortal punters.

One of two short novels by Cork author David Jordan to be released in recent weeks by independent publishers, The Hyperboreans is a “young adult urban fantasy” inspired by the author’s native city.

“It’s kind of a love letter to Cork in the ’90s,” he explains, harking back to a time of “no mobile phones, no internet, when things were a bit simpler”.

“Cork is known for its characters. It’s known for being laid-back and friendly and I think these things come through in the novel.

“In this country we kind of had our ’60s in the ’90s. We liberated ourselves from the Church to a degree and society kind of loosened up a bit. People became more open-minded so I think the ’90s for this country was a big decade.”

Though set in a series of pubs, including the old Liberty student bar and Sir Henry’s on South Main Street, two of the regular haunts of Jordan’s youth, not everything about Hyperboreans is Leeside nostalgia.

“We had Riverdance but there was also a darker side to the ‘’90s,” he says. “There was a problem with suicide and a lot of drugs going around.

“These things aren’t directly referred to in the book but there is a ghost who appears in the same pub the protagonist is drinking in. She’s kind of a poltergeist but the reason she won’t move on is because she doesn’t want her life to end - she doesn’t want the party to end - so she’s basically a personification of the ’90s.”

Joining the supernatural party are figures from Irish mythology, and in particular Cú Chulainn, who plays a more prominent role as the central character in Jordan’s second new novel, After the Táin, published this month by Vulpine Press (€11.50).

Quite as intriguing a prospect as an astral pub crawl, the modernising of myth in After the Táin sees warrior hero Cú Chulainn sup “mind-altering milk” from the teats of a magical cow.

Based loosely on parts of the Ulster Cycle, with influences of Neil Gaiman, this is “mythology with a modern sensibility”, says Jordan.

The udder of the cow in question has three teats, he explains. “You have the milk of forgetting, and Cú Chulainn drinks that first because he wants to escape his destiny.”

However, he adds, “society pressures him into becoming Cú Chulainn again”.

“People want Cú Chulainn the mythical figure so he takes the drink of remembering and it all comes back to him. Then he decides to take the milk of knowledge, just because he’s Cú Chulainn and he has to try it because he’s a hero.”

A complex chain of events sees Cú Chulainn journey to ancient Troy and from there to the heart of the Otherworld, before being brought back through the efforts of Cathbad the druid and his best friend, Laeg Mac Riangabra.

The story retains echoes of the Táin Bó Cúailnge, the cattle raid of Cooley, and is set around the time of Christ, though Jordan’s Cú Chulainn may be unfamiliar to those expecting a brave-hearted battle hero.

“I’ve tried to make him more human,” says Jordan. “I wanted something people could relate to, especially young adults.

“Cú Chulainn’s big problem is that he wants to find a place for himself in society and if you’re a young adult that’s probably one of the big questions that you’re dealing with, just finding a place, a job.”

Jordan, who did not begin writing in earnest until his 40s, is part of Ballinlough Writers’ Group and has also had several of his poems and short stories published.

Having previously self-published five books, Jordan has gone down the traditional publishing route for the first time with After the Táin and Hyperboreans, which is released by independent Scottish company Beul Aithris, and both are available in print or e-book format via the publishers or online at Amazon.