Ireland’s Own is Ireland’s longest running and best selling magazine. As you can see from the date on the attached photo, it’s first edition was back in 1902. That’s a long time ago so they must be doing something right.
I’ve been lucky enough to have had several short stories published with them over the years. In fact I had two stories published in short succession recently. The first one was about a childhood friend of mine who passed away this year. That story is in issue No. 5934, the one with Louise Morrisey on the cover. The second one is my personal tribute to Johnny Fean (Horslips) and that’s in issue No. 5936, the one with Seamus Heaney on the cover.
It’s always been a joy for me to write. It’s probably fair to say I’m better known for writing songs than short stories but it’s nothing new to me. From an early age, my older brother and I designed our own comics. I’m sure that idea was prompted by us getting the Beano and the Dandy each week. I don’t think we were prolific enough to get one out each week but it certainly kept us busy putting them together. He’d sell his to me when it was ready and vice-versa.
I can’t remember what he called his but I called mine Cestra. Where did that name come from, I hear you ask? Well, we used to strain our own milk and for that you needed filters. They came in a blue box and the company’s name was Cestra. That seemed like a catchy name to me. What can I say, I was seven or eight years old at the time. In any case, all those comics got left behind when we moved house, which was a pity. It would be fun to read through them now!