Madeleine D’Arcy: Liberty Terrace

Liberty Terrace is Madeleine D’Arcy’s second collection of short fiction. These linked short stories feature a bevy of characters who reside in a fictional area of Cork City from 2016 to 2020. The inhabitants of Liberty Terrace come and go, and their lives occasionally intersect in stories that are sometimes funny, sometimes dark, often both.

The cast of characters includes retired Garda Superintendent Deckie Google, a young homeless squatter, the mother of an autistic child working part-time as a Census Enumerator, the dysfunctional Callinan family, an aging rock star, a trio of ladies who visit a faith healer, a philandering husband, as well as a surprising number of cats and dogs. These stories shed light on how we lived before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, on what we care about and on what, if anything, we can truly count on.

“These are fizzing dark comedies with deadly serious intent from a natural storyteller – a fantastic collection.” Kevin Barry

“The stories in Liberty Terrace are intimate, humane and wickedly funny. Moving and perceptive, these stories are by turns unsettling and luminous. A triumph!” Danielle McLaughlin