Tag Archives: Matt Griffin

August was to have been a memorable month for young Matt Griffin. The 15 year-old Ennistymon teenager was to have made his national bow at a major cycling event in Austria but the Covid-19 pandemic has put the brakes on that happening. “It’s a pity. We were looking forward to the event and its very disappointing that the Austrian cycling event has been cancelled. I suppose health comes first in situations like that,” concedes his father, Matthew. The youngster’s metoric rise in cycling circles is driven by desire and a dedication which sees him make a 220 round trip to Kanturk in North Cork for training spins with the local youth cycling club. But distance is no barrier as his father Matthew fulfils the taxi driver role, ferrying him to and from the training sessions. Before the pandemic brought travel to a halt, Matt would make the trip a couple of time each week. “He can be a bit lazy …

LOCAL author and illustrator, Matt Griffin will launch his debut novel, A Cage of Roots, this Friday. Matt Griffin was born in Dublin in 1979, grew up in Kells, County Meath, and now lives in Clarecastle with his wife Orla and daughters, Holly and Chloe. Matt works as a full-time illustrator and has garnered a reputation as one of the most eclectic graphic artists in contemporary illustration, collecting awards and accolades for his work in film, blue-ray covers and movie posters, as well as illustrations for editorial magazines, such as Wired. He also illustrated A Cage of Roots. Matt had been working with publishers O’Brien Press as an illustrator and was asked by art director, Emma Byrne if he had any of his own stories. “Funnily enough, I’ve always had lots of stories and hundreds of ideas for stories and had done some journalism in my 20s but I hadn’t done any creative writing in years. She said ‘if you …