Having worked to earn a living in Dublin, I returned to my home town of Athy, County Kildare to write. That pursuit has always been my goal. The sense of satisfaction that I now gain each morning as I sit down to write was never achieved when working for a living. Don’t get me wrong, writing is hard work, but at day’s end the sense that I have accomplished something makes the work worthwhile.
It took some time to find my true genre. A work on religious philosophy was followed by a detective novel. Then I wrote a satire under the guise of a children’s novel. Another novel about a local murder in the last century was rejected by several publishers as uncommercial. Likewise, a play on the merits of democracy. Rejections are part of a writer’s journey, but he must grow the hide of an elephant if he is serious about his craft. Mythology is now my subject, and my life’s work.
The classical civilizations of Europe are universally admired, but not as much attention has been paid to the other civilizations that co-existed with them. These were different, but in no way inferior. Studying Irish myths, I discovered a system of honor and law that rivalled anything anywhere. That journey of the mind took me to Knocknarea and the reputed passage grave of Queen Maeve.
I dedicate this work to her, and to other heroes and heroines of our mythology, living and dead. The heroes and heroines who are dead, and the heroes and heroines who keep them alive.
Queen Maeve by John Henry Rainsford, is available on Amazon Worldwide and all good bookshops.