By Gage Vieno, Reporter Fellow
Two authors with Dorchester roots will gather at one of the neighborhood’s most iconic establishments next week for an evening of storytelling, conversation, and book signings.
Tom McKenna and Mary Dyer will host a Meet & Greet on Thursday, July 30, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Eire Pub, where attendees can meet both writers, purchase signed copies of their books, and reminisce about the neighborhood that inspired their work.
The event will feature McKenna, author of Up & Down with JoJo Brown and Other Humorous Catastrophes, alongside Dyer, whose memoir Dyer Straits: All Those Years Ago in Dorchester, MA reflects on her own personal stories growing up in Dorchester during the 1960s and 1970s.
For McKenna, the evening is about reconnecting with the community that shaped both his life and his writing.
“I’m expecting to see many of my Dot friends and neighbors, touch base with them, their families, have a pint or two and perhaps sell a book or two,” said McKenna. “Both of our books are set in Dorchester, so the local references will be coming fast and furious.”
Dyer said guests can expect more than just a traditional book signing.
“Attendees can browse the books Tom and I have written, buy them if they want, and have us sign them,” said Dyer. “It’s what I would call a mix/mingle. We’re hoping people will join us at our table to reminisce about the old Dorchester days.”
The two authors connected through Facebook and decided to team up because of their shared hometown ties and recently published books.
The Eire Pub was a natural choice for the event.
“Mary and I chose the Eire Pub because it’s pretty much the heartbeat of Dorchester,” McKenna said. “Dorchester may have been a melting pot of people, but it also served as a classroom for humor, absurdity and a boatload of sarcasm. It was a great place to grow up and maybe a better one in terms of making people laugh.”
