Bernadette De Courcey was born and raised in Connemara, Ireland. She has a master's degree in modern English literature and is an English professor for Keiser University’s online department. She also works in further education for the Cork Education and Training Board. Her stories have been published in the BWG anthologies and other publications. She continues to be a co-editor of the Roundtable and a member of the writers group.
Interview by BWG member Carol L. Wright
Editor's Note: Irish author and editor Bernadette De Courcey became a member of Bethlehem Writers Group almost a decade ago, when she lived in the Bethlehem area. She and co-editor Jerome McFadden were the original creators of Bethlehem Writers Roundtable. While Bernadette has since returned to her Irish roots, she remains a member of BWG. We thought we would catch up with her and find out what she is up to these days.
Bethlehem Writers Group: Hi, Bernadette. Welcome back to Roundtable. You grew up in Connemara, Ireland, where the Connemara pony was bred by your family. What was it like growing up there?
Bernadette De Courcey: Yes I’m from Connemara. My family bred Connemara ponies, and I currently own two Connemara mares, which my sons and I ride and compete in show jumping, eventing, and dressage. They have the sweetest temperament for children, but also the bravery and athleticism of a performance horse. My childhood was a mixture of hard work and fun. We ran a pony trekking business and had a small farm. When work was done, I had loads of freedom to play with friends and often walked home alone at night in the summer at 11 p.m. because it was still bright, and as long as we were home before dark it was fine. Being on the Atlantic coast we had the most glorious sunrises and sunsets, and watching a lightning storm was an event for the whole family. We could even get up out of bed to watch one if it came at night. Storms didn’t happen often, but when they did, they were fierce and beautiful. There were times when the local fisherman dropped off a feed of crab claws for my parents, and the rule was if you were asleep, you wouldn’t be woken and the crab claws would be cooked and ate all on their own – with a hammer to break them open. I was lucky to be awake for a few late-night crab feasts. Our diet was simple and what everyone now would label as organic. Most of our food came straight from my dad’s vegetable garden, and potato ridges; we ate our own lamb and we got our milk from our cows. I drank unpasteurized milk and helped churn butter. I also gathered “cranach” (edible seaweed) and winkles from the shore to eat. That method is rarely used at home today, and it has been a long time since either of my parents have milked a cow, although my dad still has a herd (and he’s 81 years of age). Neighbors and cousins helped each other out, and I spent many days footing turf on the bog and helping to save hay. Our payment was a 99. That is the best soft serve ice-cream on a cone that I’ve never tasted anywhere else. So, I can say that a simple life in Connemara was good for the body, the mind, and the soul. Once you go there you will be drawn to come back, and there are lots of people that came there and never left, so it is far more diverse than expected.
BWG: Wow! You make me want to visit. How did you develop an interest in writing?
BDC: I was a bookworm as a child. My favourite place was the local library. My mother when he has a mind to. His speeches at weddings are always memorable. I started keeping a diary when I was nine years old. I kept it up for about ten years. I’m so glad that I did because I captured so much of who I was then.
BWG: The Irish have the reputation of being great storytellers. How does your Irish heritage affect your writing?
BDC: I have a huge admiration for all writers, but I do have a special affinity with Irish writers. Irish history is so magnificent in that we suffered, but we endured. We are still here despite the odds. Just last week I read an account written by a man who had survived the horrendous four-week journey to Canada on a coffin ship in 1847, during the Great Potato Famine. He captured the horror in words that could not have been captured by camera because the hold of the boat was completely dark for the four weeks, the floor above them having been nailed shut. Many people, including his seven-year-old brother, died onboard, with little food and only brown water for drinking. The living had to lie beside the dead with nowhere to relieve themselves, no place to throw up from sickness, no comfort, no warmth, just darkness and stench. Rats ate the dead bodies beside them. The gruesomeness of what they endured cannot be put into words. Hence the term “coffin ship.” I don’t want to be melancholy, but I think writing and singing about bad times helps people get through them. It is therapeutic. But there are happy stories and songs, too, as good times are celebrated and recorded as well. Which is just as important.
BWG: How did you happen to come to the U.S.?
BDC: I wanted to travel after university and experience working abroad. I have dual citizenship, and I had older siblings living in the U.S., so I decided to come and experience it.
BWG: You became a college instructor here and joined the Bethlehem Writers Group, where you helped to create Bethlehem Writers Roundtable. How did these experiences have an impact on your writing?
BDC: I searched for a writing group for years before finding the Bethlehem Writers Group. When I arrived to the first meeting, I felt like I belonged. It was so good to hear everyone’s stories and to have a safe place to share my own. Part of the reason why I helped set up the Roundtable was because I knew there were others like me who would love participating in the sharing of their stories and we would provide that same feeling of security for our fellow writers. I hope that we continue to do that for many, many more years to come.
BWG: From there you went to Florida for a bit, then back to Ireland, where you’re raising your two boys and working in higher education. How do you find time for writing with all that going on?
BDC: To be honest writing is not my priority. I don’t write to eat. I write when I really feel the urge to write. There are so many workshops out there and people saying how you should make time for it every day, but for me doing that would make it a chore, another thing on my to-do list, and as a single mom working three jobs, I would resent it. I want to cherish the time I do get to write. I want to enjoy it. It’s for me. When I write something, if I want to share, then I share it, otherwise it’s just my own personal therapy. And the best part about it is it’s free!
BWG: You’re also an athlete. Tell us something about how you challenge yourself beyond writing. Have these experiences influenced your writing?
BDC: Well, I climbed Kilimanjaro a couple of years ago and I wrote up a piece for the local paper. It was only supposed to be 500 words, but I got carried away. I thought they wouldn’t publish it, but to my surprise they gave me two whole pages of the paper. I wanted to share this particular event with others because so many people had said to me that they couldn’t imagine doing what I had done. I wanted to convince them of the opposite – if I could do it, then they absolutely could do it, too. This summer I am going to hike the arctic circle, and I hope to write about that experience and maybe share it with others as well. I love to challenge myself physically because, like I mentioned earlier, I feel the need to be able to endure whatever life throws at me. As I run, I think about past experiences or I meditate or I just clear my mind and listen to music. However, whenever I start to feel pain like a stitch or tired legs, I start to connect with everything around me. The world comes into sharp focus. It’s hard to explain in words, other than our vulnerabilities are what makes us so human – so mortal. For me it inspires me to write. Perhaps because my writing will outlive me. My writing is like my version of cave drawings. A mark left behind that I was here for a short while.
BWG: What are the biggest differences between writing—or writers—on the two sides of the Atlantic?
BDC: There really isn’t a difference in the approach to writing. I think people write about what they know, whether it’s a small town in America or a small town in Ireland. We have more in common than we have differences.
BWG: Is the publishing scene greatly different in Ireland from that in the U.S.? Is there as strong a trend toward self-publishing as an alternative to traditional publishing?
BDC: I was in a large bookshop today in Cork and when I walked in, the first table had books on sale for just five euros. They had been originally for sale for 14 euros or more, most of them. I think book sales are hard for shops. They are competing with online stores and the e-book industry. Also, people tend to just borrow books from the library or share amongst themselves. My bookshelves get raided frequently. There are few agents in Ireland. Most writers have a UK agent. I’m not sure how or if Brexit will affect that. Self-publishing is a rising trend; however, there is still the need for traditional publishing if you want to get help marketing and selling your book. Especially if it is your source of income.
BWG: The impression from afar is that the Irish reading public is much greater, percentage wise, than the American public. Is this true?
BDC: Yes, I would say that it is. There are some factors to be taken into account for that. We have a shorter work day. Our children typically get home from school around 3 p.m. until they are teenagers and then they usually get home at 4.30 or 5 p.m. So there’s more time to get homework done, eat, play and go to bed with a book. Also, parents work a lot less. There is a lot of job sharing for mothers who only want to work three or four days a week, and they also get paid maternity for up to a year, and we can also get parental leave in the summer when children are off of school. I myself get 42 paid vacation days a year, and I just started my job last October. There was no waiting period to receive this. Not all jobs have that, but let’s be honest, very few jobs in America provide that. So let’s be fair to Americans. They are working a lot more hours. And reading takes energy whereas watching television is passive. The other factor is learned behavior. If our parents read books and read to us, we are more likely to be readers. It is possible to teach the value of books to our children. One day I couldn’t take my sons to school because the road was too icy and my oldest son asked if he could go back to bed and read for a few hours. I couldn’t stop smiling with pride, but his love for reading took years to nurture and he turned aside lots of books that were “too boring” before we hit upon a series that he couldn’t put down. Shall I tell you what it was—“Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” If at first you don’t succeed....
BWG: Is there a strong, supportive writing community in Ireland? Have you found a critique group you enjoy working with there? If so, how is it different (or the same) as ours in the States?
BDC: I belong to the Carrigaline Writers Group. We meet once a month; however, I don’t always make the meetings. It’s a small group and again similar in that we give each other support and feedback, and everyone writes their own way. I feel lucky to have this group nearby and do not for one second take it for granted.
BWG: Do American publishers appear receptive to Irish writers or do you find your best outlets to be Irish, UK, or EU publishers?
BDC: There are lots of published Irish writers who have an agent working for them in the U.S., as well as an agent working here at home for them. There are success stories of books being translated into several other languages and sold all over the EU. I think that a popular book will be well received by publishers all over the world.
BWG: What would you advise new or emerging writers on either side of the Atlantic?
BDC: Write for yourself first and foremost. Be honest and write from the heart. As a reader the books I cherish are the ones that made me feel something. I love laughing as much as a good cry, and a good book can do either or both.
BWG: Thanks so much for your time, Bernadette. We’re grateful to you for inspiring the creation of Bethlehem Writers Roundtable.
BDC: Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the Bethlehem Writers Group and the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable. It is and always will be all about the journey.