There was a unique event in Lanesboro, Co Longford, on Friday, when one of its residents published a book about his life and times.
John Hestor (90) is one of Ireland's oldest working writers. His book, Living to Ninety and Beyond, tells of his life from the time he was born in March 1909 in Carrowduff, Fourmilehouse, Co Roscommon.
He recalls talk of the Rising in Dublin in 1916 and remembers in great detail the War of Independence and the Civil War which followed it when he was a teenager.
His book tells of the pain caused by emigration and how five of his family had to leave the State to seek work abroad, a pain which still lingers with him.
He was determined to stay in Ireland and managed to find work.
He enlisted in the Army during the Emergency and served in it until 1946, attaining the rank of NCO.
A year later, he was one of the first to benefit from the development of the peat-generating power stations in the midlands, when Bord na Mona and the ESB took on thousands of staff.
Mr Hestor, who remains fit and active, was one of the founder-members of Lanesboro Boxing Club, which has had major successes over the years in the amateur ranks.
Earlier this month, there was another very interesting book publication in Longford, when a reprint of a novel entitled You'll Never Go Back was introduced by the Argentine ambassador to Ireland, Mr Victor Beauge.
The book was written by a Longford woman, Kathleen Nevin. It was first published in 1937 and tells the story of the life of three young girls who left Ireland for Argentina in the last century.
It paints a picture of the emigrant experience of the Irish community in Latin America around the end of the last century.
The book was republished to mark the 10th anniversary of the Longford/Westmeath Argentine Society and the publication reception was held in Bloomfield House, Mullingar.