The story book follows two children, a brother and sister, who embark on a magical adventure into another world. While there, they end up introducing the game of hurling to the people who reside in the fictional land.
Speaking to the Roscommon People this week, Breda explained that writing this book has been a “dream” of hers for a number of years.
“I have been thinking about publishing this book for a long time now”, she explained. “It has been in the pipeline for a few years so it really is a dream come true to have it finally come out and for it to be doing so well”.
Breda explained that beyond writing the story itself, there were a lot of hurdles to overcome to get to the stage she’s now at.
“There was a lot to learn in terms of finding a graphic designer and getting published”, she said. “It’s an area I knew nothing about, so I really had to start from scratch”.
Breda says it took her a while to find the perfect graphic designer to do the book’s artwork: “I had a good idea of what I wanted the book’s graphics to look like, so it was a matter of finding the right designer. Eventually, I found Patrick Hayes, and the artwork he did for it is really amazing”.
Breda published the book with local printing company Triest Press, who, in addition to their offices in Roscommon, opened up a second location in Castlerea back in 2021, when Breda was in the process of figuring how she wanted to go about producing the book.
“Triest Press opened their second office in Castlerea a little while ago”, she explained. “I’m from Castlerea myself, born and raised, and I think it’s really important to support local businesses, so I decided to go with them, and they did a brilliant job”.
Breda’s inspiration for the book has a lot to do with her own love and appreciation for the game of hurling. She highlighted that it is not just Ireland’s sport, but in fact the oldest field sport in the world.
“There is so much history and culture around hurling”, she explained, going on to talk about how her own family’s numerous links to the sport greatly inspired her.
“I’m first cousins with Brian and Frank Lohan, who were hurlers for Clare for a number of years. And of course Brian is the current manager of the Clare hurling team.
“My father Joe, who sadly passed away earlier this year on St Valentine’s Day, would’ve also played for Roscommon”, Breda said. “He was the one who showed us kids how to play, and I have very fond memories of that. I also remember my uncle, his brother Brendan, making the hurls for us, making sure each was the exact right size. It’s things like that where you can really see the amount of love that can go into all the different aspects of a sport”.
It is not just her love of hurling Breda attributes to her family roots, but also her love of the craft of writing, telling the Roscommon People this week, “My uncle Paddy Lohan wrote the Roscommon anthem ‘Land of the O’Connor’, and both my grandmother and my aunt Kate wrote beautiful poetry”.
The response to the book has been very positive. “The reviews that have been coming in have been really good, so that’s great to see”, commented Breda. “I’ve even had a couple of parents who’re reading it as a bedtime story tell me their kids are asking them to go to bed a bit earlier so they can know what happens next!”
Breda made a point of expressing her heartfelt appreciation to the local community in Castlerea and beyond for all the support she has received since publishing ‘Bowey Land’.
‘Bowey Land’ by Breda Lohan Hanley can be followed on Facebook. The book is available to purchase now at a number of local outlets, including Corrib Oil Roscommon, Corrib Oil Castlerea, Mace Castlerea, Wispy’s Castlerea, Sue’s Boutique Castlerea, Mulvihill’s Castlerea, Corrib Oil Ballinaheglish, Daybreak Ballinaheglish, Gem’s Newsagents Ballinaheglish, and SuperValu Ballinaheglish. You can also order a book to anywhere in the world by messaging on Facebook or contacting Breda on 087 2646692.
