Brevity Is the Soul

Book excerpt: When Ireland (along with much of the rest of the world) went into lockdown last spring, we scratched our heads and wondered what to do to help lift people's spirits.* We joined forces with Irish Pensions & Finance and ran a competition celebrating Irish people's love of a good story – and a good laugh. There were only two requirements: make it funny, and make it (fairly) short. We were overwhelmed by the response: we received hundreds of entries, from all over the island (and further afield), written by people from all walks of life. Comedian (and now bookseller) Kevin Gildea agreed to judge the entries. There could only be three winners (well four, in fact: the top prize was split between two outstanding stories) – but the entries were so good, we decided to gather the best of them into a book. And here they are – from the sublime to the ridiculous. Think Graham Norton's Big Red Chair to Samuel Beckett's humour – and all points in between. The result is: Wit from Lockdown Ireland. The contributors are Alan Brady, Sam Windrim, Fiona Whyte, Alan Howley, Noel Dillon-Daly, Eamonn Colfer, Mark Manning, Maria O'Rourke, Rebecca Kennedy, Shane McDonnell, Dan McKenna, Adrian Martin, Brendan Caldwell, A. J. McCallion, Gary Arkins, Steve Coronella, T. K. Vaughan, James Woods, David Butler, Sue Divin, Gabrielle Fogarty, Cathy Conlon, Declan Toohey, Gráinne Enright, Eamann Breen, Daniel O'Keeffe, Edward O'Neill, Cathal Holden, Rachel Fehily, Jim O'Meara, Darragh McManus, Dermot Lane, Anthony Kelly, Yvonne Roche-Harth, Steve Wade, Joseph Joyce, Keith Martin, John Anderson, Tony Clayton-Lea