Editor of The Galway Advertiser starts an MA in Writing in NUI Galway

Declan Varley chatted to SIN about going back to college, balancing the busy life of an editor with academia, his new book and the journalistic goldmine that is Covid-19.

By Saoirse Higgins

Declan Varley, editor of the Galway Advertiser for the past two decades, has started a Master’s in writing here in NUI Galway. Declan has written several novels over the past few years including the well-reviewed novel ‘The Confession of Peadar Gibbons’ and ‘Nightmusic’.

Photo: The Galway Advertiser

By Fiona Lee

Movember is once again knocking on our doorstep and asking for support in the next coming weeks.

Movember is the world’s leading men’s charity. They want men to live happier, longer and healthier lives by focusing on critical points of men’s health: prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health and suicide prevention.

SIN spoke with Jack O’Connor, Country Manager of ‘Movember’ Ireland, to learn more about the charity’s goals and activities for this year’s campaign.

‘We have our annual moustache growing campaign where guys will grow moustaches for the 30 days of November. Others will take on our ‘move challenges’ which is a 60km run throughout November, 60k for the 60 men we lose to suicide every hour. People can also host events, but this will be slightly different this year, potentially a lot of Zoom Quizzes!

“The final way people can engage in the campaign is ‘Mo Your Own Way’ which is deliberately broad, that’s for people who want to take on more unique challenges. They can come up with their own way they want to support us and stick a moustache on it”.

He revealed to SIN that his decision to do the MA in writing was because he finally had the opportunity to focus on something he loves, “This is the first time I’m doing something that focuses on the writing which is at the core of everything I do.” Declan has always loved writing, “I nearly always have four or five writing projects on at a time… writing is my hobby. If I find a 15-minute break in a café

The pandemic has put stresses on cancer services and everyone’s mental health, and Jack thinks it’s important to engage with the campaign more than ever.

“We were speaking to a doctor and he reckoned that in the next 12 to 18 months, there will a surge of late cancer diagnoses, which is obviously problematic. That is not even to touch on the obvious mental health side effects of Covid-19.

“We did a piece of research years ago that identified some of the prime risk factors of men’s mental health. That included loss of a job, parents being sick or a loss of a parent, breakdowns of relationships, and the stresses of parenting. All these things have been magnified in the pandemic. There have been many job losses, worries about parents getting Covid-19, people are bickering with their partners more because they are stuck in lockdown, or being in lockdown with their kids wrecking their heads!

“The things we all have readily available to combat these stresses are our social connections. Even they are under attack by the pandemic with the lockdown. We want people to remember to stay socially connected and be aware of the signs that something is off with their mates”.

Jack said that it is important to make more of an somewhere, I’ll take out the laptop or the notebook and make notes and work on things”.

Even with several books released, Declan felt the course would be of value to him, “You can always learn something new”, he says. Varley says his motto is to “never waste a minute”, so with everything now online, he took the chance for the course.

The MA in Writing in NUI Galway is widely renowned and is taught by some well-established writers such as Mike McCormack. Varley says the calibre of the course was one of several factors that attracted him to it, “the quality of modern Irish fiction that has come out of that course is remarkable”. As a news editor for the Galway Advertiser, he had a lot of connections with NUI Galway and knew how strong the course would be. Declan says he is enjoying every minute of the course, learning about different techniques. However, he says he is especially excited for the second semester, telling SIN, “I can’t wait to get my teeth stuck into a new project”.

With everything moving online, Varley says it was easier for him to balance his job at the Galway Advertiser and the course. He is still kept busy however as he has to “dash from one online lecture to getting a page together and back again”.

Along with juggling the course and his job at the Advertiser, Declan Varley also has a novel coming out in the spring. ‘From Under the Butterfly Shed’ will be out in 2021 and will be the story of effort to stay connected, pay attention and check in on friends during the next six weeks of lockdown and beyond.

“Some of the signs of someone who is struggling would be noticing changes in people’s behaviour. So if someone is normally the king of the group chat and they’ve suddenly gone quiet and stopped replying to messages, or if someone is usually super chilled out and all of a sudden they’re eating the head off people for no reason. Listen to what people are saying, if someone is suddenly speaking very negatively in terms of despair like ‘I’m sick of this’ and ‘I can’t do this anymore’ or all that sort of stuff. These are signs that someone might be struggling”. Movember has designed a four step model called ALEC, that is designed to help you open a conversation with someone who might be struggling: A – ASK someone how they’re doing – something as simple as ‘You don’t seem yourself lately – are you feeling OK?’ E – ENCOURAGE ACTION. Help them to focus on simple things that might improve how they feel. C – CHECK IN. Follow up after your chat. This reinforces that you care and can help you to gauge if they’re feeling any better. two women, Thelma and Louise style, smuggling €3 million across Europe by buying collectibles. Declan told SIN that the writing course has already helped him with his novel, “I will improve my product because of this course, and I already have”.

Varley has had a long career in journalism, beginning 30 years ago in the Tuam Herald. Here he learned all the necessary skills for being a journalist and it has served him in a successful career in the Galway Advertiser. Declan has given several guest lectures in NUI Galway to the journalism students and his wife Bernadette Prendergast taught broadcasting to MA Journalism students for years.

Declan commented that Covid-19 is a “rich time” for journalists. He says there are loads of stories for journalists to uncover. Declan described the pandemic aptly; “Covid is our world war”. The pandemic is one of the first things that has come in and changed all our lives according to Declan. This pandemic is a tough time for everyone, and everything is up in the air. As Declan put it, “that uncertainty creates chaos in the country”. Declan believes that journalism is more important now than ever. That we need journalism that accurately reports the situation and is “readable a hundred years from now”. He believes modern journalists are certainly up for the challenge.

Declan Varley’s novel ‘From Under the Butterfly Shed’ will be out in Spring 2021. Be sure to check it

Support Men’s Health with ‘Movember’ Ireland

L – LISTEN. Give them your full attention. out and look out for Declan on our virtual campus.

If you’re worried someone’s life is in immediate danger, go directly to emergency services (call 999).

Movember has gotten a lot of support but still needs people to step up and engage with the campaign.

“I’ve been really happy to see the amount of support we have gotten. We are slightly ahead of where we thought we would be now but it’s early in the game to say for sure how the campaign will go.

“It’s been heart-warming to see the support we’ve received. It’s easy to be negative with the lockdown in place, but I think people are gravitating towards positive things and a movement for good so I’m glad that Movember has been able to be that for people”.

There are different challenges you can take part in to engage with the campaign. Go to ie.movember. com to learn how you can help and pop a message to your friend to check in and see how they’re doing. It has never been more important to look out for one another in these trying times.