UL Creative Writing’s Neil Tully to celebrate his debut novel release at O’Mahony’s on April 14

UL Creative Writing’s Neil Tully to celebrate his debut novel release at O’Mahony’s on April 14

UL Creative Writing alumnus, Neil Tully is set to celebrate the release of his debut novel, ‘The Visit’ at O’Mahony’s Bookshop, Limerick, on Tuesday, April 16

The public is invited to join University of Limerick Creative Writing leader Joseph O’Connor and Prof Sarah Moore in conversation with UL MA Creative Writing graduate Neil Tully in celebration of his debut novel, ‘The Visit’.

The special event celebrating the launch of his remarkable debut novel ‘The Visit’, is set to take place on Tuesday, April 14, at O’Mahony’s, O’Connell Street, Limerick from 6.45 pm.

The novel, which began its life as part of Neil’s coursework for his UL Creative Writing MA, has garnered international praise ahead of its release on Thursday, March 26, with UL Creative Writing leader Joseph O’Connor tipping is as a book that “will be on many people’s Books of the Year list”.

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Speaking recently with University of Limerick in their Alumni Spotlight feature, Neil said, “I’m grateful to everybody who made it happen. I’m a little apprehensive as suddenly something that until this point has been mostly private work for the joy of it, now clashes with reviews, opinions, social media, and public aspects of publishing that are beyond my control. I’ll have to just separate those things.”

The author says he hopes people enjoy the book and that “it leads to the next one finding more readers”.

Set in June 1963, at the time of John F Kennedy’s momentous visit to New Ross, against a backdrop of a country on the verge of profound social change and the magic that Kennedy’s visit creates, The Visit explores themes of shame and redemption, love and marriage, progress, and what happens to those that progress leaves behind.

Ahead of its release, ‘The Visit’ has received praise from established authors, including the award-winning Donal Ryan, who said, “What a delight it is to read such a wonderful story, written so beautifully. Spare, authentic, effortlessly lyrical, it is a stunning novel, the work of a writer of the first order.”

Renowned Irish author Colm Toibín said, “‘The Visit is an engrossing and tender portrait of a small town under pressure … Stark and elemental – at the heart of the novel is a sort of quiet yearning and a longing for love and for completion that makes Neil Tully’s novel so brilliant and intriguing.”