Keeper of Stones

Keeper of Stones, published by Tribes Press, is inspired by the magical Tuatha de Danaan and the mystical monuments of Newgrange. It draws on myths and legends to imagine the world of ancient Ireland as a land of abundance where people live in harmony with earth and sky, and gender and sexuality are fluid. Briona joins a group of Seekers, young people who are on a journey to lay their birthstones on the mound at Newgrange to mark their passage to adulthood. She hopes to be a Keeper of Stones, one who can channel the life force through stones for healing and dreaming. Celebrations, rituals, betrayal and conflict test her as she travels through ancient forests and sacred sites. Voyagers arrive from overseas to warn that climate change and warfare threaten her culture. When she falls in love with a Voyager she must choose to stay on her destined path, or leave to follow love. The stakes are high and only Briona can decide.

The novel was launched in Dublin by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, Laureate for Irish Fiction, in The Teachers’ Club on 2^ndOctober.

Paula Meehan, former Ireland Professor of Poetry, writes that: ‘the work reminds me of one of my all-time favourite writers of speculative fiction – Ursula K. LeGuin.’

Claire Hennessy, author of In the Movie of My Life, and critic for the Irish Times, describes the book as “An evocative, intriguing journey through ancient Ireland, exploring coming-of-age in an era far less obsessed with individualism, and far more attuned to nature and community, than our own. This immersive, thoughtful novel is a pleasure to read.”

Here is the first paragraph:

The sound of drums beating low and soft wafts through the forest. It’s the call of the Dreamhouse. My eyes open. Hazel poles woven with reed and bark curve above my head. Layers of fur and Dori’s warmth beside me keep me snug. Embers in the fire smoulder, sending wisps of smoke snaking through a small hole in the roof. Dori squeezes my hand, and we smile at each other. Today is the new moon of early Spring and the start of Turas, my passage to become an adult. It will take me on ajourney to place my birthstone on Newgrange, the great mound at Brú.