BOSTON-based Limerick man Michael Graham has launched an Irish language comic book featuring local GAA clubs Ahane and Na Piarsaigh.
Originally from Coonagh, Michael works as an engineer for Analog Devices and transferred from the Raheen plant to their Boston base 13 years ago. His bilingual comic strip titled ‘Two-Goal Foley’ tells the tale of two former hurlers watching a championship match on the TV in their local pub.
“My grandfather Mick Hayes played with the great Ahane team of the 1930s with the likes of Mick Mackey and Timmy Ryan. He often shared stories with me of those times. My cousins and friends played for Na Piarsaigh when I was growing up, so that is why I included those teams,” Michael explained.
A past pupil of St Nessan’s Community College, the 37-year-old revealed that the storyline came to him during an Irish language discussion group he joined in 2010 to “refresh and revive” his native tongue.
“A common form of Irish creative writing is the ‘agalaimh beirte’, a kind of dramatic or poetic dialogue between two people. Although this project is not quite in that category, it provided a loose framework for the story of two men in a pub, discussing the sport of hurling and playfully poking fun at each other, as only friends do,” Mr Graham told the Limerick Post.
A graduate from the University of Limerick, Michael is passionate about sport and began writing sports articles for a local newspaper in Boston as a hobby in 2012. He also has a keen interest in Irish culture and the Irish language, which prompted him to write ‘Two-Goal Foley’.
This interest in everything Irish has grown stronger during his years away from Ireland.
“I wanted to allow readers who were both new to and learning the Irish language to be able to appreciate and learn some Irish in the process of enjoying the art and the story. This includes people with Irish heritage in the US interested in the language of their mother country, and people interested in learning to speak and write the language for themselves. Included in the book will be information, again in both languages, about how to learn more about the Irish language and Gaelic games,” Michael concluded.
‘Two-Goal Foley’ is now available from the Celtic Shop on Rutland Street and the Crescent Bookshop in Dooradoyle.
