Eddie to explore Doolin cultural life in latest book

RENOWNED author Eddie Stack is back in his native Clare this week putting some finishing touches to the compilation of material for his next book about Doolin.
Fans of his work will be treated to excerpts from his stories in Scéal Eile, Ennis this Thursday at 6.30pm.
Eddie grew up in Ennistymon, where his family ran a pub. In 1986, he moved to San Francisco and these days he lives half and half between there and Kinvara.
He is a recipient of a Top 100 Irish American Award in relation to his book of short fiction, The West: Stories from Ireland, while his other work includes a second collection of stories, Out of the Blue, and Heads, which was published in May. He is currently working on a book about the culture and traditional arts of Doolin, which is due out before Christmas.
“It’s about the cultural and traditional life of Doolin over the years. This is a serious read for people seriously interested in knowing about Doolin. I’ve been working on this since the 1980s and I’ve interviewed the Russells, the Killoughreys, Padraig Mhicheal Shannon, as well as a whole load of locals for research. It is a long time in the making but I hope that it will be worth the wait,” Eddie commented.
The book will have photographs from a well-known photographer as well as other material from the folklore commission and the local studies centre. “I’ve a couple of publishers interested and I haven’t decided which one yet. But it’s nice to have a choice,” he added.
He said that he will release it as a standard book, as well as a downloadable file for iPad.
“The downloadable version will have audio and visual material too, including some archival material of the Russells, as well as local footage including pieces from the late 1960s or early 1970s, with a great clip of Packie Russell and Willie Clancy. The iPad version will also have tunes I recorded from them in their houses, mainly from the Russells and the Killoughreys. Publishing for the iPad gives a bit of scope and basically the electronic version will be an enhanced book,” he explained.
Eddie said that he does his work between his home in Kinvara and his home in San Francisco, writing more in Kinvara and doing more organisational and publishing work in the United States.
“For some reason, I find it easier to sit down and write here than in San Francisco, possibly because most of what I write relates to Ireland,” he said.
He also said that most of his collaborations are based in the West of Ireland.
“For example, artist Philip Morrison did the cover for the new edition of The West. He also did the artwork for the iPhone app. I also brought out a CD of The West, with music by Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, which we did locally,” he explained.
He said that the iPhone application of The West came about after he noticed the success of downloads of the book online last year.
“It got up to 40,000 downloads and I was very surprised. Other podcasts and blogs picked up on it and it spiralled, so I figured I should merge the audio with the text into an iPhone app of The West. It’s selling ok but is at the lower end of these apps but there is some demand.”
He added that his latest book, Heads is an electronic book for Kindle or iPad or some mobile phones.
“It is much quicker to bring it out as an electronic book because the publishing world is in such turmoil at the moment. Publishers want to cram their lists with bestsellers so it’s difficult to get taken on. It is easier to get stories or a book out there electronically these days and to be honest, it’s lovely to get up in the morning and see the downloads,” he commented.
Heads, Eddie said, is set in the alternative Irish scene in San Francisco.
“It’s about an artist who is an illegal Irish emigrant from Kerry. He gets a job painting the Stations of the Cross in a church but he leaves out a station and the priest declares a jihad on him. This happens the day before the church is due to be consecrated. It’s a comic disaster. I’d call it a bit of surrealism. It is light-hearted and the main character is what we would definitely call in Clare a mi-adh. His name is Jaz. Some of the experiences are partly fictional and drawn from some experiences I’d be familiar with.”
During his stays back in Kinvara, Eddie also catches up with his four grown-up children, Aindrias, Eamon, Róisín and Jamie.
“They are all very artistic and making their way now. Aindrias is a musician and performer and he’s based between Galway and Melbourne. He plays the fiddle and writes music too and currently has a show called Around the World on 80 Quid,” he remarked.
His son, Eamon, is a filmmaker working between Barcelona and Galway.
“He does work for TG4 and is currently working on a documentary on the Rossport Five. Along with Aindrias, he has a production company called An Capaillin Ban. My daughter, Róisín, is an author/playwright and is the current director of the Galway Theatre Festival. My youngest, Jamie, is an artist and poet and is in his final year in Crawford Art College. The are all very creative and keep me on my toes with their ideas. I’m delighted to see them working in the arts,” he added.
When Eddie isn’t writing, he also works as a consultant for various music festivals, including the Celtic Music and Arts Festival.
At Scéal Eile he will read stories that are set in Clare. The reading coincides with the publication of a new edition of his classic book, The West.