Leannán Sidhe — Review by John Connor (Author of ‘Distortions’)
What a pleasure it was to read Brian O’Sullivan’s collection of stories ‘Leannán Sidhe’. If, like me, you haven’t a clue what ‘Leannán Sidhe’ means it doesn’t matter. Perhaps in some ways, it’s best if it isn’t translated in to plain English. Plain English might destroy the beauty and magic of the sound of Irish Gaelic, and ‘Leannán Sidhe’ is full of beauty and magic. Fortunately, for those of us who don’t speak Irish Gaelic ‘Leannán Sidhe’ is written in English, but English in the hands of an Irishman, who, like so many of his compatriots handles the English language brilliantly.
Brian O’Sullivan must be in the secret employ of the Irish Tourism Board, or maybe not. He draws his characters and places so well and so vividly you can go where he takes you without leaving your chair. When he takes you to the pub in the village of Goleen in the west of Ireland you can taste the beer, hear the music and singing and the wind and the rain outside. You’ll also find out what ‘Leannán Sidhe’ really means.
It is possible that among the Irish there are some dull, humourless, staid and sober people with their feet planted firmly on the ground. Maybe it’s a myth, a clichéd stereotype that the Irish are poets and dreamers drunk on words and Guinness. Well, if it is a myth, Brian O’Sullivan does nothing to dispel it. His stories are full of poetry and dreams. In ‘Suansiul As Bearla’ (Sleepwalking in English) an Irishman again, but this time in France, sleepwalks in a world where dreams and reality are indistinguishable. The story is also full of a nostalgic longing for things that have gone forever (another thing the Irish are famous for). And if it’s drink you’re after ‘The Morning After’ is a hilarious, cautionary tale of the trouble drink can cause. ‘After the Beep’ - another hilarious story might also give us some sympathy for another thing the Irish are famous for - blowing things up.