SOMETHING of a legend himself, it should be no surprise that Falls Road man Martin Taylor would pen a book inspired by the epic tales from Irish mythology.
Martin, best known as one of the Maidstone Prison Ship escapees, has always had a deep interest in Irish history but in recent years has been drawn more towards the heroic stories from Irish mythology, and especially the ancient setting of the Hill of Tara in County Meath.
This fascination has led him to write a story that fuses the present and the past and from that came the tale of Tarat Harrah – Warrior of Tara. In the book which has just been published, Martin imagines a thriving, twentieth century Tara, home to universities and its ancient Brehon Library where the ageless old librarian Ebbe works and lives. A custodian of archaic books and manuscripts, Ebbe recognises in young Tarat a chosen one who is destined to step back in time on an important mission.
The book has been a labour of love for Martin which he says would be of interest to young people and adults alike.
“I’ve always been interested in Celtic mythology, Irish history and the Irish language,” he says. “It’s always lingered there.
"My uncle Seamus Maxwell was a founding member of the Cluain Ard and my grandmother was from a Gaelic speaking area in the Glens of Antrim.”
Growing up in Iveagh, off the Falls Road, Martin now lives in Galway. He said he always had an inbuilt want for things that were denied to him.
“I’m someone who could never sit at peace when it comes to what has been denied from us, whether our language or culture,” he says. “I wanted to know more, I wanted to gain more. So from all the studies that I did as regards to Irish history, the mythology started to move in and from then on it was a case of trying to absorb all I could and I’ve been to Newgrange and I’ve been to Tara a number of times and various other places and I just said, I’d love to do a story surrounding Tara because it’s a place that I really do love and that’s where I based the story.”
The characters on the page not only come to life through the written word but also through the artistic hand of Martin’s son Emmett.
“Emmett is an artist and he has done super hero characters in the past and I said to him that there’s more in Celtic mythology regarding super heroes than you’ll find anywhere else. His drawings really add to the book."
Returning to that spiritual hill in County Meath, Martin adds. “I’m very much fascinated by Tara because all the High Kings of Ireland were there. It’s a special place and I feel something every time I go there.
“And now I have an extra reason to go back because the book is now on sale at both Tara and Newgrange.”
Published by Greenisland Press, Tarat Harrah – Warrior of Tara is available to buy at An Ceathrú Póilí in the Cultúrlann and An Fhuiseog bookshop on the Falls Road.
