Brooklyn The author has appeared Free state A podcast hosted by Barrister, who has worked hard to transform organ donation in Ireland and Joe Broly, an all-Ireland-winning Gaelic footballer, and award-winning journalist and author Dion Fanning. Their series covers topics from sports to politics, love for loss, the human condition, and how to correct the world with guests around the world.
The guest on the special edition of their series was nothing more than Ennis Corm Toybin, the author of Enniscorsy, who mapped his hometown town on the map in his incredibly successful 2009 novel Brooklyn And the recent sequel Long Island.
During their conversation, Dion Fanning asked if Enniscorsy had changed significantly from the book's setting. Colm admits that Ennis Corsy is not as far away as before, but he is optimistic about the town's future.
“It's not thriving as much, but Golly is a commuter town, and for some reason, Wexford looks pretty good too. But I think Enniscauchy will actually be very thriving over the next decade.
They also spoke about how the very realistic location of the town attracted visitors from around the world, eager to step into the pages of his book.
“The town terrain, the street names, the pub names, the shops – they are all authentic.
As for tourists, he noticed that many Australians visited in the early days, but recently, the number of places to visit had been chosen, so many Chinese tour groups were walking through the town trying to visit the character's family home.
“They did it at the museum, they made a big half room for Irene Gray, and the other half for Brooklyn, that was good. But I think it was that day, no one was trying to do it forever for the years when it was well known,” he said.
His sequel Long Island It follows the main character Iris, who returns to Enniscorchy 20 years after the events of the first book. Her marriage is in crisis and with her childhood friends keeping secrets, Ayris struggles to decide on her next step.
Free State Podcasts can be listened to and downloaded on various platforms: Spotify and Apple Podcast.
