BUTTE – Irish author Kevin Barry’s latest novel, The Heart in Winter, is set in Butte, where he did research for this novel more than 25 years ago at the Butte Public Archives.
He has since returned and says that a lot has changed in the Mining City.
WATCH: The Heart in Winter book is set among 1890s Irish miners in Butte
Butte inspired Irish author’s latest novel
“I got out of the car on Park Street after 26 years away and the first thing I saw was three very happy, shiny young people walking down the street with their yoga mats under their arm and I went, ‘oh, geez, this place has changed.’ Kevin Barry said.
One thing that has not changed is the warm reception he received on his return trip to Butte.
“When you show up in Butte, Montana, with an actual Irish accent, you’re very quickly embraced to the bosom of the town,” he said.
The town inspired him to write The Heart in Winter — a comedic love story that takes place in 1890s Butte.
Barry recently spoke at the public archives, where he did his research for the novel over two decades earlier. He drew inspiration from actual letters from Irish immigrants living in Butte.
“The letters from Irish miners writing home to their mothers in Cork about how it was, you know, you could sense the lonesomeness of the immigrant experience,” Berry said.
Butte’s archives often draw people researching their family history or working on projects.
“We love hearing this like comeback stories, where people come back and show us what they’ve created after we’ve helped them out,” Archives Director Aubrey Jaap said.
Many people were eager to read Barry’s latest novel.
“I’m just really excited they have a book about Butte and it’s recognizing the Irish and Cornish and that’s my background,” Christina Arpin said.
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