By Peg Prendeville

I was sorry to hear of the death of Tom Normoyle, Drumrisk. Sympathies to his sons Michael and Tom and sister Mary and all his extended family. I am sure he is dancing in Heaven right now.

Halloween has passed and what an awful evening it was for those who might have wanted to go Trick or Treating. I am sure it stopped many from venturing out.

I have been holding back from commenting too much on the poetry books launched by my sisters recently simply because they are family but then I thought if they weren’t family I would be very eager to lavish praise on them so I hope you don’t mind me rambling on about them. I know that Paddy Faley would be delighted that the poetry gene was passed on to his children and would delight in the fact that they published their own collections. He, himself, took great pride in his own book The Life and Rhymes of Paddy Faley back in 2003.  Bridie Murphy’s book Connections is on sale in O’Riordan’s Chemist, Athea and in the Knockdown Arms among other places. It is a beautiful book of colour photographs interspersed with lovely rhymes and evocative articles. All Bridie’s poems are based on real events in her own family or in the area and her witty lines are a joy to read. I find it very uplifting, especially on these dark nights to pick it up and read one or two. It would make a lovely Christmas present for anybody with a love of reading or anyone who is handy with a camera. It is priced at €20, which is very reasonable for a hardback colour book. Ger White’s book “Newspapers on the Floor” is selling through www.amazon.com   and is another collection of poems, long and short, funny and serious, light and dark. Ger lives in East Grinstead in the UK but has a great love for her home place and many of her poems refer back to her time living in Turraree with her Uncle Dan and Ciss. The poems range from quite funny to spiritual to imaginative to a hint of darkness. Her sense of humour is infectious and the title itself sucks one in and makes one curious to read more.  It is a black and white paperback. Poetry, as I’ve said before, is only really enjoyable when read aloud and read more than once. At each reading more of a story is told and more sentiment and emotion is expressed. If anybody would like a copy let me know. My mobile is 087 6826878. As I said it is sold through Amazon but for those who would prefer a copy put into their hand I can get some for you for €15. Again, another lovely Christmas present. I wish both my sisters the very best and encourage them to keep writing. The funny thing is that both were intending to publish this year but had kept it to themselves and surprised us all and each other when they let us in on their project. Sure their launches nearly clashed!