Ballymahon writer’s novel wins prestigious McGahern award
A local writer has won the inaugural John McGahern Book Prize for his “pitch perfect” novel, ‘Love Notes From a German Building Site’.
TOP: PHOTO: Adrian Duncan, a Ballymahon man based in Berlin, has won the inaugural John McGahern Book Prize for his debut novel. Photo: F. Ward.
Adrian Duncan, a native of Terlicken, Ballymahon, was last week announced as the winner of the £5,000 prize established by the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Irish Studies.
The author is a son of Jean and Adrian Sr, and a former student of the Convent of Mercy in Ballymahon. He has been living in Berlin for the last six years.
‘Love Notes From a German Building Site’, his debut novel, is about an Irish engineer working on a site in Berlin.
Colm Tóibín, one of the judges for the John McGahern Book Prize, said the book is one in which the author “writes beautifully about cold weather, gruff manners, systems of hierarchy... he also writes beautifully about precious time off, or the occasions when memory takes over.”
Irish Times fiction reviewer, Sarah Gilmartin, called the book a “pitch perfect debut” which explores “what it might mean to be Irish in the 21st Century”.
Reacting to his award success, Adrian said: “I am very moved and proud to be awarded this wonderful book prize.
“To be associated with John McGahern, a writer I have admired for so long, is an incredible honour.
“I owe much to my publisher, The Lilliput Press, for taking a chance on me and for their continued support. I would like to extend my gratitude also to the Institute of Irish Studies for bringing this prize into being.
“My thanks also to all of the judges, and particularly to Colm Tóibín, who had the difficult task of choosing the final book.”
Adrian studied engineering in college and subsequently returned to study fine art at the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology. His second novel, ‘A Sabbatical in Leipzig’ was published by The Lilliput Press this year.
In an article for the website The Gloss, Adrian reflected on his enduring affinity for his native Ballymahon.
“My family live in a Bungalow Bliss-era house a mile or so from the town. It was an upbringing thousands of other rural-Irish people of my age will recognise – semi-rural and semi-suburban,” he stated.
“To the front of our house runs the busy main road to Longford town and to the rear stretches hectares of mostly peaceful farmland.
“I visit my parents more and more often these days. Though I haven’t lived in Ballymahon since I was seventeen, I still love the place and I love going home to see my parents and whoever of my siblings is visiting at that time,” he concluded.