Interviewed by Sue Leonard.
Published in the Irish Examiner on 29th December
Beginner’s Pluck Declan Dunne.
Dunne has always been interested in creating stories. His father, an editor with several regional papers, worked with Patrick Kavanagh during the 1950’s. After school, Dunne became a journalist, writing for the Tuam Herald. Whist there he got involved in the Tuam Theatre Guild, directing, writing, and acting.
In 1998, he edited a paper for the Irish Community in Britain. Returning to Ireland two years later, he freelanced, and then joined RTE.
It took him four years to write Peter’s Key.
“Peter Deloughry was my grandfather. I spent my childhood listening to my mother disappointed that her father’s story was not known. After all he had done, he didn’t seem to have been given any credit for it.”
Who is Declan Dunne?
Date of birth: 1st May 1962 in Wexford.
Education: St Peter’s College, Wexford. Then school in Clontarf.
Home: Dublin, but I go to Paris a lot.
Family: I have a sister and a brother; and I have four nephews and nieces.
The Day Job: RTE. Chief Sub-editor in the Newsroom.
Interests: I love American comedy up to 1960; the films, the TV and Vaudeville.
Favourite Writers: Thomas Hardy; Shakespeare; Moliere and Beckett.
Second Book: I’ve written plays. I’m now working on a novel about psychiatry and Afghanistan.
Top Writing Tip: You have to want to do it. It’s no use writing something you’re not interested in. And you shouldn’t try writing if you don’t like the process.
Web: www.peterdeloughrytd.com Twitter: @declandunne
The Debut: Peter’s Key. Peter Deloughry and the Fight for Independence. Mercier: €19.99. Kindle: €11.55
In February 1919, three prisoners, including Eamon de Valera, escaped from Lincoln Jail, simply by unlocking the gates. This was thanks to fellow prisoner Peter DeLoughry, who made the key. The key became a symbol of the success that could be achieved by co-operation and hard work. Later, however, the relationship between the men became fractured. Mayor of Kilkenny, Deloughry served in the first Seanad.
The Verdict: This biography shreds new light on Ireland’s Civil War History.
© Sue Leonard. 2012
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