The Running Book

In the lead up to St Patrick’s Day, one of Ireland’s favourite authors, John Connell, appears in conversation with Daniel Browning to discuss his latest release, The Running Book.  

Set in the Irish summer, a time when the hay and silage have not yet been made on Connell’s farm and he can indulge his other great passion: running. He sets off on a marathon run of 42.2 kilometres through his native Longford, the scene of his award-winning The Cow Book.  As he runs across woodlands, fields and down tiny roads, he tells the story of his life, and contemplates Ireland’s history, old and new. He also remembers other great runs he has done, in countries from Australia to Canada, and tells the stories of some of his running heroes, such as Haile Gebrselassie.  

Part memoir, part essay, The Running Book is a deeply intimate and wide-ranging local and global story: Connell is as likely to write about colonialism and the effect of British imperialism in Ireland and its former colonies as he is about life on his family farm in County Longford.   

This event was presented in partnership with the Irish Consulate