IT was, she said, a virgin project for her to launch a book but actress Rosaleen Linehan did it with gusto for Eugene McEldowney's latest novel, The Faloorie Man, in Waterstone's in Dawson Street on Wednesday night. The title was a bit ambiguous, she said, but then so was all great literature - she imagined seminars in 40 years time on the exact meaning of Faloorie . . . in Sweden. After she delivered a number of animated readings, Linehan and the author joined forces for a rendition of the Belfast children's street song about the fairy man which gave the book its name.
This is McEldowney's fifth novel but the first with an autobiographical background as opposed to his usual detective/crime genre. While it tells the story of Martin McBride, a young Catholic boy growing up on the streets of post-war Ardoyne: it is in fact based on the true story of Eugene's wife, Maura, who was adopted as a baby. So, it's a mix of her background and both their early experiences.
Many of McEldowney's colleagues from The Irish Times, where he is night editor, crowded in to give him support and other guests included civil rights lawyer Michael Farrell, former trade unionist, now banker, Phil Flynn, trade unionist Jack Nash and novelist Jim Lusty. Publisher Edwin Higel of New Island Books predicted The Faloorie Man will reach the bestseller lists in no time and be translated into many languages, even Swedish.
R.H.
