'Coming of age' novel 'McCoubrey' about a 12 year old growing up in Portadown to be officially launched

Written by Portadown native Mark B McCaffery (Brian), it’s a hilarious and honest journey of a time when poverty was rife, park swings were tied up on Sunday and teenage boredom led to some interesting pranks.

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‘McCoubrey’ is Brian’s first novel loosely based on his experiences in Portadown in the early 1970s. With ‘The Troubles’ about to start, McCoubrey, aged 12 and with some ‘salty language’ recounts tales of Butlins, broken biscuits and schooldays. It has all the Portadown landmarks such as The Tunnel, St Columba's school, Woodhouse Street, and Redmanville.

‘McCoubrey’ captures the political tensions and young boys approaching puberty in a fictional setting, portraying the boredom and the ‘small town mentality’ the protagonist confronts on a daily basis as his teenage years loom.

The character of McCoubrey is a likeable boy who is a popular member of the lads club but yet he is observant and discerning for his age, understanding of bullying by adults.

Mark (Brian) McCaffery is the eldest boy in a family of 11 children. He has lived in London for the last 40 years, most recently working as a counsellor within higher education. Prior to completing ‘McCoubrey’, his only creative writing consisted of a few short stories for personal enjoyment.

He attended the Presentation Convent from about 1963 to 1965. At age seven or eight he went to the Boys’ School at St Columba's in Carleton Street, and then aged 11 to St. Malachy's in Selshion/Drumcree.

The McCaffery’s lived in Redmanville then a mixed estate of which Brian has ‘both good and not so good memories’. “We always as a family, got on very well with our Protestant neighbours,” said Brian, adding that this gradually changed as the Troubles took its terrible toll. At aged 16 Brian and his family moved to a new house in Ballyoran, so it meant a short walk to St Malachy's.

Brian revealed: “I felt compelled to tell. Although ostensibly fiction, the novel is based on real life experiences, not all of them ‘endearing’.

"It is obviously based on my home town of Portadown, and in the late sixties/early seventies it could be a challenging place for a specific section of the community. The book covers that ‘crossover’ period of ‘pre-Troubles’ to ‘Troubles’. Normal childhood antics dovetail with events pertinent to the prevailing political atmosphere.”

This is a funny read but the harsh realities of the time are not pushed to the side lines but very much front and centre. McCoubrey could be any kid from Portadown/Lurgan in that era, Protestant or Catholic. McCaffery’s perception of the poverty and politics of that time is exceptionally clear. The book brings us back to a wonderful era of school pranks and adolescent musings plus it shines as a brutal reminder of the stench of outside toilets and pain of corporal punishment. Brian captures the Portadown and people of that era magnificently.

The launch of McCoubrey, hosted by publisher Danny Morrison of Greenisland Press, is on Thursday May 2nd in the Pastoral Centre on Garvaghy Road, 7:30 until 9:00pm. All welcome. To buy the book click here: The Lark Store Colourpointbooks, An Ceathrú Póilí Amazon