Novelist Mike McCormack and Vinny Browne of Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop were in accord on Thursday evening at the launch of Mary Costello’s latest collection of short stories, Barcelona.

At the event in the city bookshop, they said it was “unlikely that a better collection of short stories will be published this year”.

Officially launching Barcelona, Mike recalled his long friendship with Mary, dating back to the 1990s when, as young writers, both were nominated for the Hennessey Short Story Award.  Neither of them won on that occasion but they’d a great time in the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham.

Both from farming backgrounds – she from Skehana and he from Louisburg, County Mayo – their style of writing was very different, he observed, but rural Ireland was central to their work.

He spoke of how several stories in Barcelona put animal welfare centre stage in a new and crucial way, while pointing out other important themes in a collection that explores the unknowability of others – whether they be husbands, wives, parents, children or former partners – and the impact this has on people’s lives.

Caption: Vinny Browne of Charlie Byrne’s with authors Mary Costello, Mike McCormack and Edel Coffey at the launch of Mary’s new collection of short stories, Barcelona, last week.

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