Yesterday evening, Mercier Press had the pleasure of hosting the launch of Theo Dorgan’s latest novel, Camarade, at Hodges Figgis in Dublin. Dorgan, a celebrated poet, academic, writer, and proud Corkonian, has crafted a thoughtful new book that stands as an intricate tapestry of the human experience and a masterclass in contemplative, yet compelling storytelling.

This remarkable novel transcends a simple narrative; it’s a profound reckoning, exploring into themes of identity, memory and the intricate political and personal entanglements of a century. Both timely and profoundly relevant to our rapidly shifting world, it masterfully poses one of those eternal questions we all ask ourselves; do our actions shape us, or are we already who we’re meant to be?

Camarade follows Joseph Lyons, an Irish exile in Paris. At 70 years of age, he begins writing his memoir, forcing him to confront the night 40 years prior when he shot a policeman in Cork and fled to France, an act that had far reaching consequences. The narrative unfolds against the backdrop of significant 20th-century struggles and questions how those events shape and infiltrate Joseph’s life. Violent, complex and divisive conflicts like the Irish War of Independence, the Irish Civil War, the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War, the French-Algerian colonial war and the events of 1968 in Paris.

With plenty of parallels to the time we find ourselves in, with the rise of the far right across Europe, the book may be set in a different century, yet it feels timelier than ever. During the launch, Ciarán Benson, the now-retired Emeritus Professor of Psychology at University College Dublin and former chairperson of the Board of Poetry Ireland, highly praised Theo Dorgan’s unique voice and many indefinable qualities. ‘Theo’s Camarade is an exemplary exploration’ of how European history leaves its mark on the individual, featuring characters who ‘fought in the International Brigades’ and resisted fascism at great personal
cost.

The novel subtly reflects a crucial question we face today: how should we react when hate, authoritarianism and a disregard for history become openly prevalent once more? With themes both ‘universal’ and ‘quietly compelling,’ Benson praises Dorgan’s work as ‘a novel for this coming age from the passing world of another age,’ where the past — wars, revolutions, friendships — haunt and shape the present. Camarade is described as a ‘distinguished and enlightening read, and a timely baton to an oncoming readership well-worth grasping.’

While many know Dorgan for his distinguished poetry collections and his dedication to activism and cultural arts, Camarade is his second novel. It’s praised by Benson as ‘a remarkable, monumental, and intricate weave of personhood, parenting, power, politics, psychology, poetry, and philosophy spanning a century of change.’ The novel tackles universal themes such as ‘the nature of belonging, of home, of comradeship,’ making it a novel we truly need now.

As Benson eloquently summed up, ‘There is one particular animating question in Camarade that stands out… a question confronting all of us when we consider what, if anything, to do when faced with the collective troubles of our world: ‘If not us, who? If not here, then where?’’

Other attendees on the night included; Catriona Crowe, Jack Lynch storyteller and actor, STANO, Denise Dunphy, Paula Meehan, Neil Pearson, and Moya Cannon amongst others.

Camarade is published by Mercier Press and is available in bookshops and online now