Tara Maher chatted to author Tadgh Coakley, who recently published his latest crime thriller Dark Streets. Coakley is an ward winning fiction writer. His second novel Whatever It Takes, published by Mercier Press is the One City, One Book 2020 choice for Cork.
An avid sports fan his writing can be found in the Stinging Fly, The Winter Papers, The Irish Examiner, The Irish Times, The42.ie, Aethlon, The Holly Bough, The Honest Ulsterman, Quarryman, and Silver Apples.
Tadhg Coakley likes to give his culture centre stage in his novels. It's what he knows best.
The award-winning writer from Mallow has written several award-winning works that showcase the grit and glamour of Rebel County and its sporting traditions in both his fictional and non-fiction pieces.
Coakley's journey to becoming a published author is a testament to his dedication. Despite always wanting to write a book, he never found the time. However, following his retirement from CIT (now MTU), he pursued an MA in Creative Writing at UCC and finally published his first novel in 2018.
Coakley's love for thrillers can be traced back to his youth, where he found joy in reading Edith Blyton novels and Agatha Christie. This joy in the genre is evident in his own thrilling works.
"In my teens, I loved Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. I loved to watch Hitchcock's films and other thrillers in any genre, Western or crime films. I read a lot of Scandi noir and wondered why no crime thrillers were set in Cork?"
In 2015, he began writing his crime novel, published in 2020.
"Whatever It Takes" follows Detective Garda Collins, a former inter-county hurling star based in Cork City, who's at war with local criminal Dominic "The Dom" Molloy.
The thriller was intended to be a stand-alone, but when Coakley began to wrap up the story, he realised he wasn't finished with Detective Collins just yet.
The second instalment, 'Dark Streets,' follows Collins as he is "forced to confront the demons of his haunted past—a past rooted in formative years at University College Cork, making him question the nature of justice and the path he has chosen in its pursuit."
When Collins digs deeper, the line between justice and revenge blurs. Trust becomes a luxury he can't afford; it slips away as allies become adversaries.
Coakley's novels are predominantly set in West Cork, Collins's home turf. This setting allows Coakley to explore themes of home and love, and to personify local voices and their opinions, creating a strong sense of local pride and connection for the reader.
Writing about familiarity empowers Coakley. Where some dream of faraway lands, he finds inspiration in his own passions. Sport, in particular, is a powerful motif throughout his writing.
In his debut novel, "The Third Sunday in September," Coakley tells the story of a fictional All-Ireland hurling final between Cork and Clare (too soon!) and the personal lives of players and fans that make the game such a spectacle.
These individual stories explore the highs and lows of our national sport and discuss underlying themes of addiction, sacrifice, and jubilation.
Similarly, "The Game" outlines the significance of sport in the author's life. He describes it as a "part-memoir" that explores his time as a player and a fan and a collection of essays critiquing its influence.
"All my life, I felt I should be writing. Now I'm catching up. No wonder I have had six books published since 2018," he told The Carrigdhoun.
Writing a novel can be daunting. Although it is at the top of many people's bucket lists, the mental strength and commitment to sitting down to actually write can be challenging, and very few make it to publication.
His routine is simple: "I go to my desk every morning, and I write all day." When writer's block hits, he doesn't spend too much time pondering; he simply moves on to the next scene.
He likes both the writing and editing process, which is unusual for writers. "I like fixing the sentences. I work hard with transitions, starts, and endings of chapters. In this book, there are two timelines that run parallel to each other. One timeline is from 1990, when Tim was young in UCC, and the other is from 2015, when Tim was thrown out of the Guards. Both timelines have to work with the other one, which was a big challenge in the book."
"I hope I managed it."
Dark Streets is out now.
Comentarios