Overview

The Old Trading Store is a richly detailed saga of Irish life in the mid-20th century. Following the Flanagan family of Cody's Cross, the book explores ambition, resilience, and betrayal in a small town where the trading store and the local bar are the heartbeat of the community. Packed with vivid characters, rural traditions, and the tensions of modernisation, it is a book that celebrates Ireland's enduring spirit. Step back into mid-20th-century rural Ireland, where family honour, gossip, and ambition collide. The Old Trading Store follows Bill and Hanna Flanagan, pillars of Cody's Cross, as they struggle to balance the demands of a thriving hardware store, the lure of bar ownership, and the hidden costs of ambition. From bare-knuckle brawls and horse trading to the tensions of after-hours pubs and the watchful eye of the Gardaí, this sweeping saga explores love, betrayal, resilience, and the price of survival in a close-knit community. At its heart is Jonsie, the restless son who runs from school to Scotland, stumbling into danger, deception, and fleeting connections that could change his life forever. Rich in Irish tradition, humour, and tragedy, this novel paints a vivid portrait of a town caught between old ways and modern temptations. Perfect for fans of Patrick McCabe (The Butcher Boy), Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes), and Edna O'Brien (The Country Girls), The Old Trading Store captures the heart and soul of Ireland's storytelling tradition.

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9781919178899

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O'Flaherty grew up surrounded by the rhythms, humour, and hard truths of rural Irish life, experiences that continue to shape both his storytelling voice and his characters. Deeply connected to the traditions of small-town Ireland, his biographical fiction captures the wit, resilience, and hidden struggles of ordinary people navigating extraordinary change.A lifelong observer of community, O'Flaherty draws on a rich well of personal memory and local history to weave tales that are as authentic as they are compelling. His writing celebrates the music of Irish dialogue, the colour of everyday characters, and the emotional complexity of family life, while never shying away from the darker undercurrents of poverty, gossip, or ambition.With The Old Trading Store, O'Flaherty delivers his most sweeping story yet: a saga of love, betrayal, and survival set against the backdrop of mid-twentieth-century Ireland. Readers who enjoy the evocative prose of Frank McCourt, Patrick McCabe, or Edna O'Brien will find in his work the same blend of humour, pathos, and unflinching honesty.When not writing, O'Flaherty can often be found in the places that inspire him most - quiet corners of the countryside, local pubs alive with laughter and stories, and the company of friends and family who remind him why the Irish storytelling tradition endures.

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