Literature

Walk the Line with Aoife Barry: ‘Nothing is perfect, permanent, or personal’ is a mantra I live by

Cork journalist and broadcaster Aoife Barry’s debut book release, Social Capital, looks at Ireland’s relationship with Big Tech. Here, she talks switching from the buzzy newsroom to the author’s desk, processing grief, and her experience of online harassment

Aoife Barry: ‘They say you abandon a book, not finish it, and it does get to the point where you just have to let it go’. Image: Michelle Hennessy

I’ve loved writing since I was a kid – my first ‘book’ was written aged 11 for Write A Book Day, and it was about a Viking boy who lost a comb...no, I’ve no idea either.

At 16, I started writing music reviews for a local freesheet in Douglas and I got the journalism bug – and then, after volunteering at Cork Campus Radio in UCC I combined that with the broadcasting bug.

Over the years I’ve written for both newspapers and online and combined that with radio slots. It’s been great. I always wanted to write a ‘proper’ book, and now, in my late 30s, I have finally gotten around to doing it. Hopefully there are more books in my future.