Two awards - and a new book - for Cork writer Cónal Creedon

In the middle of the night, while the majority of the residents of the rebel city are sleeping, you will find some who are working the night shift.

There are the hospital workers, the bakers, the delivery drivers, and right in the heart of Cork city, there is also a very accomplished wordsmith beavering away.

Covered in the cloak of night time silence, writer Cónal Creedon is busy in his word factory with pen in hand, blissfully putting words to paper.

“I write with a pen and then transcribe it onto a screen, because if I write directly on to the screen there is a tendency to edit as I go and that self-editing too early in the process gets in the way of the kernel of an idea that’s forming in my head,” he explains,

Cónal’s latest book has just freshly emerged hot from the oven of his imagination and its title, Spaghetti Bowl, is drawn from a reference to his home under the ever watchful eye of the ‘Goldie Fish’ of Shandon, and is an anthology of mostly previously published essays.

He will be doing a reading with Molly Twomey at Waterstones in Cork city as part of Culture Night tonight, Friday, September 20, at 5pm.

A deeply personal collection, it boasts a wonderful cover designed by Cónal himself. It’s a collage of images referencing his own life, including his house, a leprechaun wielding a hurley stick, rosary beads, The Dandy comic character Desperate Dan, and a poster from the famous Cork music venue Sir Henry’s, where Nirvana played their only lrish gig in 1991.

This eclectic collection on the cover mirror the stories found within, where Cónal brings the reader on a scintillating journey through the complex area of memory and emotion to the raw heart of the human condition.

Here, you will feel the jolt of how a seemingly random encounter can have huge significance when the next news you get is that the friend you randomly bumped into has passed on.

Here is parental love, a child’s trip to the seaside, where Cónal recalls Ballybunion with his dad, reminding us that these moments make for the sweetest and most visceral of childhood memories.

There is pause to contemplate our rapidly-changing society going from a time when coffee was a beverage and not a culture.

Cónal came of age when the soundtrack of punk proclaiming No Future was a spot on articulation of the bleakness of the economic slump. Budget air travel did not exist, and the only future for youth was a ticket for the bus to London, or in a lottery for an American visa.

“I guess I’m a product of my time,” he said. “Punk came about during a very deep and dark recession and happened during my formative years. Generations of families were on the dole. No work, no money, no opportunity.

People just had to do it for themselves. A lot of people turned to their own creativity as a way of engaging and occupying the mind in a time of unemployment.

Some turned to music, song writing, art and performance, some became entrepreneurs, making businesses out of nothing.

“My way of explaining and dealing with the world very much stems from that time,” said Cónal. “Ever since, I have been just doing it for myself.

It’s not the easiest nor the most straightforward way - but it’s the way I know best.

There are tales from Fairhill to Beara, from Covid times to the loss of his constant companion, his little dog Jude, affectionately known as ‘Dogeen’, who passed away tucked up in a blanket in the loving embrace of his partner Fiona. Anyone who has ever lost a pet will empathise.

The agonies and the ecstasies of life - it’s all to be found in this collection of stories.

For Cónal, writing gives him the utmost pleasure, and unlike some writers who describe the process as laborious, for him it’s purely a labour of love.

“ I love the process of writing - I don’t view it as work - it’s the most enjoyable part of my life.

“Of course, life has a knack of getting in the way - so that’s why I get up very early, in the middle of the night, there’s less interruption when the world is asleep.

“I always think it must be like a person who loves fishing, waking up to a river every morning and being told - ‘Fish away to your heart’s content.’”

Cónal’s efforts have certainly landed him some very big fish indeed.

It was recently announced in Switzerland that the World Cultural Council Award of Arts 2024 will be awarded to him.

The World Cultural Council is an international organisation with a membership comprising of scientists, scholars, university presidents, and executives from five continents including several Nobel Laureates.

To mark this occasion, Cónal will deliver the 2024 Beatty Lecture at McGill University in Montreal on Tuesday, October 22.

In their decision to award him the honour, the World Cultural Council concluded: “Cónal’s detailed investigation of such a tight-knit neighbourhood across various artforms and collaborations reveals a fascinating insight into the universal nature of the human condition.

His diverse creative output comes together as a single cohesive body of work that resonates far beyond the inner-city streets of his native Cork.

And the good news does not end there.

Cónal will also receive the Irish Books Arts and Music (IBAM) Award for Literature 2024 at an award ceremony on Chicago in November 22, 2024.

Previous IBAM award winners include notable writers such Frank McCourt, John B Keane, and Maeve Binchy.

“It’s such a special honour to receive an award for doing what I love doing,” said Cónal.

Writer Flannery O’ Connor once said, ‘If you’re going to write, you’d better come from somewhere.’

Would Cónal ever live and write anywhere else?

“To tell you the truth - I’m capable of living anywhere,” he said. “I lived in Canada for a few years in my early twenties. I have a tendency to set down roots very quickly.

“Even in China, without a word of Mandarin, I got to know a lot of local people where I lived.

“I guess in total I visited Shanghai maybe seven times, it was the most amazing, life-affirming adventure which altered my world view.

“Simply put, it confirmed in my mind the universality of the human condition.

I always say hello to street sweepers, shopkeepers, taxi drivers, security people, and before I know it I’m down in the pool hall playing snooker.

“I guess downtown people are downtown people ,no matter where you are in the world.”

Spaghetti Bowl, by Cónal Creedon, is available in Waterstones and directly from Irishtown Press. More info: www.IrishtownPress.com