Economic crash led Margaret to career as author and poet

The economic crash of the late noughties may have robbed Mullingar woman Margaret Kiernan of her career, but at the same time, it launched her in another direction: she is now a full-time writer.

This week sees Margaret launch her poetry book A Mirage of Lost Things. Her first book, the novel The Bay of Nectar, is available online.

Launching A Mirage of Lost Things for Margaret at Mullingar Library on Thursday, August 1, at 6.30 pm is another successful Mullingar author, Dolores Keaveney.

"It's a book of poetry that covers a physical, emotional kind of journey through life," says Margaret, who is from Hillside Drive.

Prior to the crash, Margaret worked as an advocate in inclusion and diversity, but she always had an interest in writing: "When I was a child, I used to write a bit and I was always into reading and literature, so I would have written bits and pieces on and off. But in 2000, I started doing creative writing courses, and it kind of sparked from there."

At the same time, holding down a demanding and responsible job left Margaret very busy: "I found that during those years, I couldn't really find any time to write. And then, like everyone in the world, it seemed, the economic downturn arrived, and my job became redundant.

"That was a huge shock to me when it happened in 2009. So I was going to start up a business of my own doing what I do. I did the Start Your Own Business course with the Local Enterprise Office, and when I had it done, I realised that there was no funding at all, no public funding available for projects. So while the service was needed, there wasn't actually any money in the country to pay for it because I would have had to employ other advocates to deliver the service. So at that stage, I made up my mind that this was pointing me in the direction I needed to go, which is what I've always wanted to do: writing.

"So that was about 2011, and that’s where I’ve been focused. My first work was published in 2016."

That book, The Bay of Nectar, was published on the site Live Encounters Publishing on World Refugee Day and can be read for free.

Margaret is also currently at the editing stage with two other books.

The new poetry book, A Mirage of Lost Things, published by Alba Publishing in the UK, is available to buy through Margaret herself via her email at kiernanmargaret@yahoo.ie.

The link to Margaret’s e-book is: Liveencounterspublishing.net margaret-kiernan-the-bay-of-nectar