Journalist, writer and broadcaster, Charlie Bird was in Cork on Thursday, 19th May for the launch of his book ‘A Day in May: Real Lives, True Stories.’ Bishop Paul Colton was invited by the organisers, author and publishers to launch the book at a function in Waterstones in Cork.

Four of the Cork-based contributors were interviewed by Karl Hayden at the reception. The renowned freelance photographer, John Minihan, who took the photos for the book, spoke about his contribution, and Charlie Bird himself spoke.  Bishop Colton said that the invitation to him to launch the book was ‘generous and gracious’.

Bishop Colton said:

In a world of generalisations and stereotypes where people make shallow assumptions about one another – ‘the poor, the sick, the mentally ill, the gays, the politicians, the church, the bishops’ – it is very important that there are opportunities for properly getting to know people as fellow human beings, to hear their stories and to come genuinely to understand each others’ situations.  This book is a valuable contribution to such a process. True understanding of one another as human beings, based on getting to know one another at an ordinary day-to-day human level, is very often the first building block of justice and equality.

Bishop Paul Colton (second from right) at the launch in Waterstones, Cork of ‘A Day in May’ with writer Charlie Bird (centre) and those from Cork who contributed their stories to the book, who were interview by Karl Hayden (right)