Liberty Features

TheLibertyInterview

Patrick Boland, author of "Tales from a City Farmyard"

By Jenni Duggan

Pigs in Pimlico

A farmyard in the heart of the Liberties may seem like an unusual place to have grown up, but for Patrick Boland it was the most normal thing in the world. Patrick was born in the thirties on his father’s farmyard on Cork Street. At the time the only unusual thing about it "was that there was no farm to go with it".

Patrick is the author of the best-selling "Tales From a City Farmyard." The book is a collection of anecdotes and memories from his childhood, about which he fondly reminisces. Unlike many authors who have written about the same period, Patrick has concentrated on the fun times rather than the hardships. For him it was a "time of adventure" when children had to come up with their own forms of entertainment, before "television became the mental disease it is today".

The farmyard was a "magical place" where Patrick and his friends had many "great adventures". The inhabitants of the yard included a large number of pigs, six horses, forty hens, a few dogs and a number of cats. The pigs were kept and fattened until they could be sold to Donnelly’s bacon factory. One of Patrick’s funniest memories is of the time he lost three pigs on the way to the factory. He "chased around like a mad man," trying to find them before his Dad found out.

"A decent and honourable man," is how Patrick describes his father, a native Dub whose family lived in the area for many generations. Patrick’s mother was from Fermanagh and he remembers her as being "a kind and loving person". Willy, his half brother - nicknamed ‘Wally’ by Patrick - also lived with them. Unlike Patrick, who was "always being brought in by the ear for one thing or another", Wally "was perfect and could do no wrong". In fact Patrick says he grew up with his father’s war cry, "you’ll never be like the other fella". Despite this, Patrick had a closer relationship with his father than Wally.

If his childhood days at home were full of fun, Patrick’s school days were the complete opposite. Just like all the other boys of the area, he attended the local Christian Brothers’ School. He suffered both mental and physical abuse at the hands of some of the Brothers. Their teaching philosophy of the time was "to beat the knowledge in to you". During his time there he encountered characters like Brother "Killer" Kelly and Mr "Manky" Monaghan. Eventually, after enduring years of their mistreatment, Patrick left school to go and work for his father. He finally completed his education at a private school.

Despite his humble background, Patrick went on to become a successful businessman. Just like a gypsy’s prophecy when he was a baby, he went on to be "great" and got "a briefcase and a cheque book". At the age of seventeen he got a job with The Irish Press. He went on to take charge of the European manufacturing operations of an American-owned multinational, adding a company directorship to his many other achievements.

"A magical experience" is how Patrick describes the writing of his book. "It is one of the most important things I have done." The writing of the book also proved to be full of emotion. "As I travelled back in memory to my childhood, all sorts of emotions played with my senses." At times he found himself "laughing out loud" at some of the funnier, amusing events from his youth. Many memories however, were also sad, bringing tears to his eyes. "In my journey back in time, I tasted tastes long forgotten, including for the first time since I was a boy, the salt of my own tears."

In total, the writing of the book took about three months. Having only a second-hand portable typewriter, Patrick retyped the whole book ten times. After each retype he read through the book and found more changes which would have to be made. All in all, he typed nearly one million words. Patrick spent some time at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig in County Monaghan. There he met some "real" writers who, he says, had a "profound influence" on him.

‘Tales from a City Farmyard’ was launched on The Gay Byrne Show. Patrick was more than a little nervous on his big day. "I was fearful I would make a fool of myself, in all sorts of ways." In an attempt to ease his nerves, he slipped Gay a little note which read, "Gay, I am very nervous, I didn't sleep a wink last night worrying about the interview and I am shivering in my trousers. Please be nice to me". Gay laughed, putting Patrick at his ease and the interview went well.

The publishing of his book has been more successful than Patrick could ever have imagined. According to him, "I don’t know where I go from here". He has fans and even fan clubs world wide. He has been approached by publishing companies with a view to writing a sequel but at the moment, he has no plans.

Patrick is also willing to give special group readings and can be contacted through the Liberty.