Former Kilkenny resident launches new novel

The launch of the wonderful new novel, Kilbride House, by former Kilkenny resident, Sheila Forsey at the Home Rule Club in the city last week was tinged with sadness.
It marked the last official event organised by Dubray Books, Market Cross, Kilkenny which closed for good on Sunday.
Sean Keane who launched the book, made an impassioned plea to Kilkenny people to go out and support local shops and in particular the city’s remaining book shops.
“On-line shopping is killing the retail sector in the city and while retailers must adapt to a changing environment, the public must realise if they do not support their local shops, they will have no shops in the near future,” he said.
He had nothing but praise for the novel and said there were more secrets in it than you would find in a Sherlock Holmes mystery.
“This has shades of Maeve Binchy and it is a wonderful read.
“For me it is all about redemption and it pulls at the hearts strings, particularly at the end,” he said.
The author, Sheila Forsey worked at Lilac Lodge in Hotel Kilkenny for a number of years before returning to her native Kilmuckridge.
The launch was attended by many of her Kilkenny friends and by local actors who shared the stage with Sheila while she was with Watergate Productions in the city.
She explained that as a child, living in Kilmuckridge and attending the annual drama festival in the village by the sea was a major contributor to her becoming a writer.
She said writing Kilbride House was a labour of love for her as she loves West Kerry where it is set.
The story revolves around Victoria Goulding, a Protestant, who falls in love with Canice Meagher, born on the Blasket Islands and a Roman Catholic.
To be together they must elope. Before their escape, the hand of fate plays its cards and changes their lives irrevocably.
Sixty-three years later, in the leafy suburbs of New York, Edith Goulding, Victoria’s sister, has died and the secrets come out.
Please go out and buy it. You won’t be disappointed.