To understand the end, let’s go back to the start.
It was August 2020, and Brendan Tierney put me in touch with the Sligo Weekender. The newspaper were looking for a columnist, and I was writing a daily blog at the time.
I spoke with editor Peter Henry, and we agreed that I’d write a weekly column for the paper starting in September. 400-500 words. Rooted in Sligo but outward-looking. Music and Sport would be the main themes but not the only ones.
And so I did just that. This is column 76, which equates to one every week for a year and a half or so.
I read recently that you should spend your 20s saying yes and your 30s saying no. Gain all the experience you can when you’re young but as you get older begin to focus and leave more space. Unfortunately I no longer qualify for either category but it’s an interesting idea, and one that was in my mind when I spoke again to Peter last week.
Because in August 2020 it was easy to say yes. We were a few months into the pandemic and at the time there was no end in sight. There were no gigs, which meant we had more time on our hands but also that we had to come up with new ways to stay in touch with our audience. So a newspaper column that would be read each week by the people of Sligo was an attractive proposal.
Rory Maitland, Luke Devaney and I started a podcast around the same time for similar reasons. We produced 35 episodes of the podcast, but none yet in 2022. We don’t know if it will return. I spoke with Rory last night and we reflected that even if we never do an episode again, no one can take that body of work away from us. It gave us something to do during lockdown, and created friendships that didn’t exist before.
And I feel similarly about the column. I enjoyed all 76. Making the time to sit and think. Writing. Great things to do with your time. I look back at previous columns every so often and it’s like reading an old diary. A lot happened in the last 18 months, and I love that I have a record of it.
But now the world is opening up. Things are happening again. Monday nights in Connolly’s are back. We had a great time at Teenage Theme Night #25 last weekend. I’m in Dublin this week to play some exciting gigs with the Second Captains podcast. And the big one, Theme Night #29 in May, will need some serious work soon.
It’s time again to say yes to these things. Which means saying no to others, but that’s OK. Things don’t have to last forever.
So thanks for reading. And to everyone who took time to tell me they enjoyed it. Thanks to Peter and the Sligo Weekender for the opportunity. And you can still hear from me each week at kieranquinn.ie/letter.
Till next time – look after yourselves and each other.
Kieran.