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Roddy Doyle is the author of ten acclaimed novels, including The Commitments, The Van (a finalist for the Booker Prize), Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha (winner of the Booker Prize), The Woman Who Walked Into Doors, A Star Called Henry, The Guts and Smile and most recently Love. Doyle has also written several collections of stories, as well as Two Pints, Two More Pints, and Two for the Road, and several works for children and young adults including the Rover novels.

His most recent novel LOVE describes how two old friends reconnect in Dublin for a dramatic, revealing evening of drinking and storytelling.

“Love drew me in gently and moved me deeply as [Doyle’s] old friends open up to each other over one long pub crawl. On this side of the pandemic, I read it as a hymn to the small but irreplaceable pleasures of face-to-face chat in public places.”

Patrick Freyne spent most of his twenties trying to be a rock star before turning to the much more stable and secure world of journalism. He is a features writer at the Irish Times. OK, Let’s Do Your Stupid Idea is his first book. It was longlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2021, and was shortlisted for the An Post Irish Book Awards Newcomer of the Year Award 2020.

Patrick Freyne has tried a lot of stupid ideas in his life. In OK, Let’s Do Your Stupid Idea he tells you about them: like the time (aged 5) he opened a gate and let a horse out of its field, just to see what would happen; or the time (aged 19) he jumped out of a plane for charity, even though he didn’t much care about the charity and was sure he’d end up dead; or the time (aged old enough to know better) he used a magazine as a funnel for fuel when the petrol cap on his band’s van broke.

He has also learned a few things: about the power of group song; about the beauty of physically caring for another human being; about childlessness; about losing friends far too young. Like David Sedaris or Nora Ephron, he creates an environment all his own – fundamentally comic, sometimes moving, always deeply humane. OK, Let’s Do Your Stupid Idea is a joyous reading experience from an instantly essential new writer.

“Patrick Freyne is a comic genius”

“Clever, lovely and great, great fun”

This event will be moderated by journalist and writer Edel Coffey, whose debut novel, Breaking Point will be published by Sphere in 2022. 

This event is kindly supported by MHP Solicitors & The Ennis Book Shop