From student to speaker: a return to UL’s Creative Writing programme

On Tuesday I returned to the University of Limerick to speak with the current MA in Creative Writing students. It was a strange and wonderful experience, having graduated only last month.

I was part of a panel of five former students who have become published authors since completing the course. The other four were Neil Tully, June O’Sullivan, Gráinne O’Brien and Sharon Guard – see below for links to their work.

The session was hosted by Prof. Joe O’Connor, the renowned author and Chair of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick, who has been an incredibly generous and thoughtful mentor to every writer on the course. He set the tone for an open, practical conversation.

Buy On The Way Out in your local bookshop or from our online store

We spoke about the realities of getting published: what helps, what hinders, the unexpected pitfalls, what we took from the course and the supports that continue after graduation.

It was also good to see some familiar faces among this year’s cohort, namely the part-time students whose first year overlapped with my own second year.

I consider myself extremely lucky to have studied at the University of Limerick. I got so much from it and was only too delighted to offer the benefit of my experience on Tuesday last. If anyone reading this is contemplating doing the course, I’d be happy to chat to you. Just send me a direct message.

Neil Tully’s debut novel (published by Eriu) comes out soon – you can pre-order it now (I did this morning): https://www.neiltullyauthor.com. He’s a fellow Mayo man; as we say around here, from ‘down north Mayo’, Ballina to be specific.

I’m currently halfway through June O’Sullivan’s second novel, The Sky Is Not Enough (Poolbeg Press) – I’ve always been envious of writers who can conquer historical fiction, and this is a great read: https://poolbeg.com/shop

The hilarious Gráinne O’Brien will soon need a second mantlepiece to house all the awards she’s won for her lyrical verse novel for teens and young adults, Solo (Little Island): https://www.littleisland.ie/products/solo

Sharon Guard has also captured several awards. I haven’t read her book Assembling Ailish (Poolbeg Press) yet, but it’s on the list: https://poolbeg.com/shop/ols/products/assembling-ailish

And, finally, given that promotion, even of the at times shameless ‘self’ type was one of the topics we explored on Tuesday, here’s a link to my debut novel, On The Way Out (Limerick Writers’ Centre / Savoy Editions), winner of the 2025 Gerald Griffin Competition for First Original Adult Fiction: https://liamhoran.info/reviews

All in all, a great day. The University of Limerick will always hold a special place in my heart. And a passing doff of the cap to the GAA club there after their week of historic exploits in Croke Park last week, winning their first-ever Sigerson Cup title and tacking on another Fitzgibbon Cup win.

Buy On The Way Out in your local bookshop or from our online store