Baaaa-ck to basics: Award winning Longford author John Connell launches new book

John Connell is a man with many strings to his bó. His 2018 memoir The Cow Book immediately springs to mind, but he's developed a career that spans television, print and public speaking.

As a film-maker his documentaries have won over a dozen international awards, as a bestselling author The Running Book augmented the international acclaim of the aforementioned publication, both of which spent numerous weeks as Irish bestsellers.

His work as a playwright has led to a New York Festivals award win. He writes for national publications and he's developing a number of TV projects. As a public speaker John has talked all around the world including Ireland, Australia, the USA, and the UK.

Also read: Longford Lives: John Connell on farming, faith and his future

He still finds time to be one of the primary drivers of Granard's Booktown Festival. Just to add to the workload he is also a farmer.

Twelve Sheep: Life Lessons from a Lambing Season contains the eclectic blending of history, philosophy and nature with which the author has struck a chord with readers across the globe.

As Granard's Booktown Festival prepares to launch the John is surprisingly calm despite having a full plate in front of him: “It's all going well. It is a very busy time, but I am very happy,” he told the Leader.

Passion plays a significant role in the choice of Connell's topics. He returns to pastoral themes for his latest publication: “I love farming. It's something that's part of my life. It's part of so many people's lives in Longford and rural Ireland.”

Following up on the success of The Cow Book and The Running Book is a tricky prospect: “When I finished the last book I was unsure what to write about. I was a bit burnt out. I got this idea to buy 12 sheep, and I ended up buying them off mum and dad.

“I said to myself, “I'm going to slow down, I've been very busy in life'. I follow the life of the sheep over a lambing season on the farm. It's a love letter to farming, but more than anything it's a book about happiness and joy.”

John wants to pass on some of that joy: “It's a story people can pick up, it's a shorter book. It's a series of 12 lessons for people to read, and perhaps say to themselves, 'I learned something about slowing down a little bit and appreciating the little things'. When you work with animals and new life, it makes you appreciate how beautiful life can be.”

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The connection with the heritage of agricultural life is deep-seated: “We don't know any other way of living. Farming is a way to keep rural communities alive and well.

“The money spent by farmers in local communities, three quarters of that stays in the local community. It's a very important business.

“I met a lot of people in the five years since the Cow Book came out, people from America, Australia and all over the world.

“A lot of farmers wanted another farming book and I wanted to talk about the good and the bad and the in between. Sheep were the natural progression after the cow. I like sheep and I learned a lot in the process.”

The international appeal of John's writing contrasts with the jumping off point of its subject matter: “I think the beauty of Ireland's farming is that it's family farming.

“Farm families make up the majority of the farms in Ireland. It makes us so special, because people actually have a relationship with their animals.

“I write about America in the book. I've been to the big feedlots. There isn't a relationship there. Ireland is really unique in that we have that intimate relationship.”

“We have small farms where people have names for their animals, they know them well. I think family farming is the present and, hopefully, the future of farming in Ireland. We do it so well.”

Also read: Longford ready to take a hold of its future again

John is quite philosophical about his latest publication: “This one is about how 12 sheep helped a man find the meaning of life. I don't mean that in a fantastic way. The meaning of life is the meaning we give to it.

“These 12 sheep I have, they helped me figure out the next step in my journey. I hope they will do the same for everyone that reads the book.”

Twelve Sheep: Life Lessons from a Lambing Season will be launched this Friday, April 5 at 7pm in Longford Library by Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív.

Also read: Author John Connell explores Longford’s personality in ‘Travel Tales with Fergal Podcast’