Conor Matthews
Bio
Writer. Opinions are my own. https://ko-fi.com/conormatthews
Stories (202)
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The Trees Swallow People
Reporting at the Garda station proved depressingly tedious. I went, expecting to be met with derision and light mockery or perhaps aggression for wasting their time. It proved to be neither, but still a regretful experience for two officers.
By Conor Matthews4 years ago in Fiction
The Trees Swallow People
Over the weeks, two things continued to catch my attention. First, there was a sudden increased in the number of people going missing. Upon first impressions, one would say they had little in common. For instance, one was Michelle O’Reilly, a grandmother who emigrated and returned at least twice, known locally as a music teacher who muttered swears whenever she had a particularly untalented student, reported missing by her adult daughter. Another was Anthony Winkleman, a newly married husband from the states, working in the docklands as an engagement engineer; essentially, his job was to make social media users into social media abusers.
By Conor Matthews4 years ago in Fiction
Write Every Day; The Worst Advice
Often I’m torn between two beliefs; determinism and defeatism. I love self-help talks but I hate those who blindly declare you deserve every negative aspect of your life. A middle ground I found can be summed up in the Serenity Prayer;
By Conor Matthews4 years ago in Journal
Where Conspiracy Clichés Come From
I must have passively come across this quote a hundred times since the start of the Pandemic. Maybe even just as much before, but quieter, like pre-2020 seems to be in our nostalgia. Along with "NWO", "Global Reset", and Globalism, as well as a whole hotchpotch of other zaney sound bites, one quote keeps emerging;
By Conor Matthews4 years ago in FYI
What Writing Judges Think
I was fortunate to have to a runner-up in this year’s Hubert Butler Essay Prize. During the award ceremony, I got a chance to talk to the judges, made up of academics, bestselling authors, and even the family of the late Mr. Butler, where the topic of the fellow applicants who hadn’t been as lucky came up.
By Conor Matthews4 years ago in Journal
How I Benefited From Covid
[The following was submitted for the 2021 Hubert Butler Essay Prize, where it was awarded a runner-up prize. The context is the essay was to be titled “ “During the plague I came into my own” (Anthony Hecht). Who or what benefited from Covid-19?” As such, the essay begins in reference to that title.]
By Conor Matthews4 years ago in Confessions
How To Not Hate People.
I was on the bus yesterday, ready to murder the man standing next to me with his mask down by his chin. You’ve found yourself in something similar; consumed by anger at how stupid someone can be. You’ve followed rules your whole life and just can’t help but feel vitriol when you see someone breaking them, as though they are somehow above these rules.
By Conor Matthews4 years ago in Psyche
You’re Not Allowed To Read This.
Hey! You better not be reading this. If you’re reading this, you better stop. This isn’t for you. It’s a piece expressing the feeling of existential futility people feel when making anything, too consumed by the self-awareness that statistically voicing anything is ultimately meaningless. So if you’re reading this, stop it! You’re giving it meaning and that’s just rude.
By Conor Matthews4 years ago in Journal
11 Lies About Millionaires
Photo by Giorgio Trovato on UnsplashThis may surprise you, but I love watching Fox News. I love hearing from people I disagree with. I'm enthralled by things I'm opposed to. This is for many reasons; diversify opinions I'm exposed to, strengthen my defences, nurture empathy. There's many reason but one comes to mind in particular, a reason I wish more people would consider.
By Conor Matthews4 years ago in The Swamp
