PS, I Love You author in Athlone
A likeable and talented nepo baby
Some of you, like me, may have watched the 2007 film that was adapted from Cecelia Ahern’s novel PS, I Love You.
Released in 2004 when Cecelia was only 23, PS, I Love You was her first book, which she had written aged 21.
20 more books over the course of 20 years followed and so did more movie adaptations such as Love, Rosie. According to her website she has sold 25 million books in her career, which is an impressive achievement, also considering that she is only 43.
Ahern is also the recipient of a number of literary awards including the Irish Post Award for Literature in 2005.
She visited the Dean Crowe Theatre in Athlone in November 2024 to introduce her latest novel Into the Storm and read a short excerpt from it. The novel tells the story of a woman called Enya who works as a family doctor and how one night her life changed as she tried to save the life of a young boy.
While the event was mainly promoting Ahern’s recently published book, it was also part of a series of literary initiatives in Athlone to celebrate the centenary of local author John Broderick, as he was born in Athlone in 1924.
Ahern explained about her writing process and her research, which often includes visiting places in person to actually experience them first hand and to check if the mental image she has of a particular town is realistic. In fact, she mentioned that she had to change the location in one of her books as the way she had pictured a place in her mind did not match what it looked like and it wouldn’t make sense in the narration, especially if the reader is familiar with that place.
She had also had lengthy conversations with people like doctors and members of the police force (Guards in Ireland) to ask about their day-to-day life and what types of protocols they have to follow, for example in the event of a road accident. Ahern then explained that, as much as she wants to be as close to reality as possible, there must be enough room for fiction to take the reader on a journey.
Her talk demonstrated that she is an engaging communicator and a solid fan base – Ahern received a warm Athlone welcome.
After her presentation there was an opportunity to ask questions so I raised my hand and I asked what would her dream cast be for the movie adaptation of Into the Storm, if budget was not an issue.
At first she listed a number of British TV series actresses like Suranne Jones who could play the lead character and then, remembering that sky is the limit, she added a couple of Hollywood megastars: Sandra Bullock and Woopy Goldberg.
Nepo baby, did you say?
You would never guess that Ahern was a nepo baby by looking at her website and yet, Ahern… that name sounds familiar, right?
Former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and former Lord Mayor of Dublin Bertie Ahern is Cecelia’s father. Also, former member of Irish boyband Westlife Nicky Byrne is Cecelia’s brother-in-law. Bertie Ahearn held the position from 1997 to 2008, witnessing the highs of the Celtic Tiger economic boom and the lows of the global recession in 2008.
Truth be told, I had no idea of all these connections and it was only by talking to one of my Irish friends that I got the full backstory. Listen, I am not here to judge, I am just saying that having that type of high profile connections can open more doors than to the average emerging author, but then you still have to put the work in to have a lasting career.
Ahern undoubtedly has the talent, resilience and dedication that are needed to be a successful author. Writing and promoting a book a year takes an enormous amount of effort and, on top of that, Ahern has also written scripts for TV series such as Samantha Who? starring Christina Applegate.
Thank you for reading. In next week’s post, “No time to waste, there’s wine to taste!”.
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