We’re delighted to be joined by Patrick Kealey, a compelling new voice in literary fiction, author of Bogboy.
Set against the evocative backdrop of 1970s Galway, this gripping coming-of-age story navigates the complexities of identity, faith and self-discovery, through the eyes of a young protagonist at the crux of his sexual and spiritual awakening.
Alfie O’Brien, aka Bogboy, orphaned at birth, is a teenage boy, brought up by his aunt in a deeply traditional Irish society where Catholicism and social expectations weigh heavily on the sense of self. As he grapples with his emerging identity, the constraints of family, and the desire for personal and sexual freedom, readers are taken on a deeply emotional and thought-provoking journey that resonates with universal themes of love, acceptance, and self-realisation.
The novel is also a love letter to the Irish landscape, as Bogboy finds solace and kinship in nature. The rugged beauty of Galway’s coastline, the peatlands and farmlands of his home and his shamanic relationship with Hawk — the bird which guards his spirit — inflect the story with an alertness to beauty that recalls us to our relationship with the natural world.
It also takes as its subject a frank and unsentimental emerging homosexuality, as Bogboy seeks a love that is both intimate and grand and, in doing so, comes to recognise the bonds of family that he had imagined were beyond his reach.
Blending a robust yet lyrical prose with an unflinching willingness to tell the truth, Patrick Kealey captures the essence of a time and place marked by social change, while offering an intimate exploration of a young man’s quest for identity and belonging. Bogboy is a novel that is lit from within with a generous wonder for the world and a deep compassion for human frailty and strength.
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About the Author:
Patrick Kealey is an accomplished actor, theatre director, and storyteller. Bogboy is his debut novel, drawing inspiration from Ireland’s rich history, and the timeless struggles of the young seeking to understand themselves in a rapidly changing world. It is a true story in everything but the details
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