It’s hard to believe we are already knee-deep in February. Where did January go? Where did I go? I hear you say! In general, I’m not a fan of New Year’s Eve. Gone are the days of being at the pub, getting sloshed on Southern Comfort and red, and dancing like a fool on a table-top, counting down the seconds to midnight, then kissing everyone in sight proclaiming undying friendship and love. These days, it’s pyjamas by 9 pm, a nice bottle of Piper Heidsieck, and falling asleep by 10:30 pm. I used to set my alarm for midnight but really, what’s the point? Okay, that’s not entirely true. Two years ago, I did celebrate in our apartment in Prague where we had full view of the city’s exquisite fireworks, despite the laws prohibiting them. This past year, I was in our home in Malahide where we had a lovely view of the sea, but could only just about hear the fireworks going off in the distance. At least I stayed awake until midnight. Many of you have asked me about my writing journey since I started, so I thought I’d share with you how my year went last year. 2022 was full of rejections, but more importantly there were plenty of successes too. I am incredibly grateful. Having started my writing vocation during Covid, last year was the year I was first published. Good Day, Cork, an on-line magazine commissioned my piece I Am Born and printed it in English and Czech. (I know a really good translator) From there, I had success within the comedy writing circuit, getting published in Funny Women Magazine. I wrote a piece about my gynaecologist that I shared on Twitter, and it got the attention of Lynne Parker, Founder of Funny Women. She guided me to trim it (the article that is…), and it became a popular funny piece. I was a runner-up for a piece of Flash fiction with Comedy Women in Print, winning my first prize as a writer. (Granted it was a pen, but it was a prize none-the-less and I love it). Early in the year, I started writing for Squash Mad, an internationally acclaimed Squash Magazine. As a master’s squash player, I shared my stories of old-age-athleticism and the pains that go along with it, and was published several times. Sadly, the magazines owner and editor Alan Thatcher retired, so I am no longer submitting to them. I owe a great deal to Alan and wish him well in his retirement. In April, I was selected by the Cork World Book Festival to read the first page of my novel  – Bigger Plans – a story about a nun who was expelled from a convent (no spoilers as to why) and takes up a job as a PE teacher in a Cork secondary school in 1985. I was delighted to get feedback from Polly Nolan, SallyAnne Sweeney and Vanessa Fox-O’Loughlin, all renowned editors and agents. Fast forward to June, and I wrote a piece for the Irish Times Abroad section. After a coffee meeting with Barbara Scully (Author Wise UP), who encouraged me to write about my experience growing up gay in a stifling Catholic Ireland, I had a big piece published in the Irish Independent Health and Living section. That sparked interest in local radio and I was contacted by Newstalk and had a most enjoyable interview with Andrea Gilligan about growing up in the 80’s at a time when it was illegal to be homosexual. I subsequently had interviews on EastCoast Radio, LMFM, and NearFM. Late in the year, I began a collaboration with my funny friend Valerie Troy, who I met in my on-line writing group, Writing.ie Writers Ink. We read each other’s stories, laughed, laughed some more, and decided to try our hands at writing a screen-play, Men Oh! Pause which was long-listed in the Female Pilot Club. We were delighted with ourselves. Being long-listed surely means that somebody somewhere read our script and gave it a nod, right? We continue to write together and have a new sitcom Busted! in the works. This came about just before Christmas when we binge-watched Bad Sisters while binge-eating mince pies and binge-drinking prosecco. It’s a story of success, you’ll surely agree. Sharon Horgan doesn’t know it yet, but she has a future with us. Watch this space. My new-found love of writing screenplays blossomed when I contacted David Gilna, an old friend from the stand-up comedy scene, and renowned Irish playwright. ‘Will we write something?’ I asked him, and to my pleasant surprise he agreed. Our pilot episode of a dark comedy Aoife Allen is signed off and just waiting to be snatched up. David is having huge success with his one-man play A Bolt from D’Blue which he has toured around America, and is now being sought after on Irish shores. One of my most popular blog posts last year was Death Wish (read here) https://orladoherty.com/death-wish/ and I can safely say I’ve taken my own advice. Don’t wait to do all the things you want to do. So many of our loved ones have randomly been taken away from us over the last 12 months, so I encourage you all to simply do the things on your bucket list. Cross them off. Choose joy, and stop worrying about what anyone else thinks. The only opinion that matters is your own. I am so grateful for 2022. I’ve worked hard to get published and heard. I’ve had way more rejections than I have successes but with the incredible support I have around me, I choose to keep going. I somehow developed my very own set of balls this year and seem to have no problem throwing caution to the wind in pursuit of my dream – to be a published writer. It’s liberating. No-one is going to do it for me. For those of you who read and enjoyed hearing about my neck surgery, I’m happy to report that it was a success and I stepped on a squash court yesterday after four months of not playing. My legs and bottom are talking to me today, loudly, but nothing that a good long walk, hot bath, and glass of prosecco can’t fix. So a massive thank you to all my followers, to all my supporters, to my family and friends for believing in me. In particular to my mentors Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin and Maria McHale from Writing.ie who continue to foster my steely balls – they seem very content to sit back and watch them expand. Maybe this is the year for my memoir The Fish that Learnt to Swim to find it’s way into bookstores, and onto your kitchen counters or into your bookshelves, or maybe even that book in your bathroom where you read a chapter each time you go. I’d be happy with that. I’ll leave you with my first published piece of the year, in Funny Magazine. It seems to be giving most people a chuckle. I hope you all find your Why this year and make things happen for yourself.

Have you seen my Y?