{"id":132540,"date":"2025-05-26T06:18:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T06:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/132540\/"},"modified":"2025-05-26T06:18:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T06:18:11","slug":"meet-the-co-antrim-man-helping-families-turn-precious-memories-into-books-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/132540\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Co Antrim man helping families turn precious memories into books \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

What do you know about your granny? What was her childhood like, what games did she play, what was her first job, her first love?<\/p>\n

Not many of us know details of generations past, even of our own parents\u2019 history, and that\u2019s a pity.<\/p>\n

So much is slipping away without being recorded for children present and children yet to come.<\/p>\n

When I visit groups to talk about my own experiences I always instruct the listeners to buy a note book and begin writing down all they can remember – if you can talk, you can write.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/a>\"Why<\/a><\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve gathered all your memories of what family life was like when you were a child, school life, words used and now out of fashion, why not consider printing them in a book and I know just where you can go to achieve this invaluable family background.<\/p>\n


\n\"Join
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Se\u00e1n O\u2019Halloran lives in the Glens of Antrim and he\u2019s a publisher. He will take your notes, short stories, poems and your photos and return them to you in book form – and it\u2019s a great thrill.<\/p>\n

His company, Clachan Publishing, is based in a room at his Ballycastle home.<\/p>\n

He and his wife, Helen, met when she was a teacher in the Cross and Passion College in Ballycastle. Both have careers working in education and it\u2019s taken them round the world.<\/p>\n

They travelled to Singapore, where Se\u00e1n taught English in the prestigious Raffles Junior College, teaching boys and girls of 17 upwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll assignments had to be submitted via word processors and computers were common place, that was in 1980 so technology was well advanced.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there the family moved to Hong Kong. They remember a time of terrible violence around the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, China, and where in Hong Kong when Chris Patten became the last governor of the island, from 1992 to 1997.<\/p>\n

They recalled the frightening sight of the Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army marching along the road into Hong Kong to take over from the UK after 156 years of British rule.<\/p>\n

Eventually, in 2002 the family returned to Northern Ireland; Se\u00e1n to roles in Ulster University and Queen\u2019s University, and Helen becoming principal of St Mary\u2019s primary school on Rathlin Island.<\/p>\n

Challenging Times<\/b><\/p>\n

But Se\u00e1n\u2019s ill health was taking its toll, with cancer and sciatica; for more than a year he couldn\u2019t move, during which time his cousin asked him to help her investigate their ancestors. It was a distraction so he agreed.<\/p>\n

Lying in bed, balancing his laptop on his knees, he began recording the story of the family, and so Clachan Publishing was born.<\/p>\n

For Se\u00e1n it began a career in researching and publishing many valuable out-of-copyright antiquarian books, scanning the images, forming them into readable text when old fashioned fonts caused confusion.<\/p>\n

However, more often it\u2019s family memories like the book he published for a woman recalling her ancestors, the United Irishmen and the foundation of the Labour party in Derry.<\/p>\n

\n

There was no way of getting a reprint until I heard of Se\u00e1n so, with fingers crossed, I went along to see him in Ballycastle last year complete with one of the last copies of Standby Studio – and he said, \u201cNo problem\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Another was for the specialist who introduced kidney dialysis for children in the City Hospital, and another a family\u2019s loving present to a grandfather for his 80th birthday. They had put together letters from friends, tributes from his children and grandchildren, some handwritten, others typed and lots of photographs, all recording his years.<\/p>\n

A private publication for family only and a precious gift. \u201cThe books I\u2019m asked to work on are all interesting,\u201d says Se\u00e1n, adding: \u201cThat one was moving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building A Book<\/b><\/p>\n

When it comes to working with a client on a specific project, with Se\u00e1n\u2019s advice they decide on layout, text, design of front cover, the number of copies. Once he and the author are happy he sends the finished work to internet printers and within a short time those dreams become a reality.<\/p>\n

Since he began publishing in 2012, Se\u00e1n has completed 56 publications – including a book I had written but was out of print.<\/p>\n

There was no way of getting a reprint until I heard of Se\u00e1n so, with fingers crossed, I went along to see him in Ballycastle last year complete with one of the last copies of Standby Studio – and he said, \u201cNo problem\u201d.<\/p>\n

He took the book apart, scanned 200 pages into his computer – which he did admit was tedious – but the result was 25 perfect books and because all the information is stored electronically, I can have more copies at anytime.<\/p>\n

Lest you think this will cost the earth, while it depends on what is required, it\u2019s no more than buying a paperback in a bookshop.<\/p>\n

The bigger the order, the cheaper the price – but don\u2019t be put off, he specialises in short print runs and the result is a cause for celebration.<\/p>\n

More information at <\/b>clachanbooks.com<\/b><\/a>, by telephoning 077 9892 6624 or emailing <\/b>ClachanPublishing@outlook.com<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What do you know about your granny? What was her childhood like, what games did she play, what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132541,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3938],"tags":[6342,3444,77,2348,8838,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-132540","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-book","9":"tag-books","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-history","12":"tag-nostalgia","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114572683082259848","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}