Tipperary artist Roy Galvin wows crowd at launch of new anthology

Tipperary artist Roy Galvin wowed a crowd of bookworms at the launch of a new anthology.

Alongside fellow feature writers Sarah Gilmartin and Roisin Meaney, Roy read a touching excerpt from his upcoming memoir, In Pursuit of A Normal Life. 

Originally from Limerick city, Roy now lives in Tipperary. A jack-of-all-trade who recently featured on TG4, Roy is also Ireland’s first male ballet dancer.

Throughout his career, the artist has lived many lives. But the life he was surprised by the most is not the one you would expect.

“Being a performer and growing up on stage in front of people from a very early age made me very jealous of people who had normal, ordinary lives. All my life, all I've ever wanted was an ordinary life. So the name of my memoir, the title, should I say, of my memoir is In Pursuit of A Normal Life,” he said.

If he could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, it would be Senator David Norris. 

"When I was growing up as a young gay boy, he was the only man who was brave enough to talk about his life publicly. And he gave me hope," said Roy. 

Produced by students from the University of Limerick, the latest edition of The Ogham Stone features over 30 students and six feature writers, including Sarah Gilmartin, Roisin Meaney, Roy Galvin, Fíona Scarlett, Lisa McInerney, Jack Fennell, Jane Clark - and many more.

A journal of new Irish writings, The Ogham Stone launched its 10th edition on Thursday, April 18.