A short story, inspired by Madonna, commissioned by RTÉ Radio One’s series The Prompt. Broadcast May 2025.
Listen here“Colm McAuliffe’s story I Hear You Call My Name opens with the lines ‘It must have been around the spring of 1989 when my mother became fond of Fr Ryan. I can see now why she was drawn to him: as well as being charismatic, he possessed a great listening face and was one of those people you opened up to without realising.’
Colm says of his piece that it ‘was an attempt to capture an innocence through childhood, parentage, and nationhood. I find myself reflecting on my own youth in the late 1980s and early 1990s and my obsessions with popular culture and how every magazine I read, or song I heard, felt like a tantalising entry point into another world which was just slightly out of reach.'
I Hear You Call My Name revolves around the song Like a Prayer by Madonna: "I was almost seven and entering my Madonna phase," he says. "The three of us bonded over Like A Prayer, which was topping the charts at the time. While my mother had indicated a certain indignation over the lyrical content, Fr Ryan assured her that it was all above board and Madonna's faith was, indeed, quite sincere. I let on that I, too, had initially struggled with the song, but after some intense reflection, was happy to confirm the priest's hypothesis."
Colm says that "the 'Patron Saint' prompt made me realise that some of those patron saints who facilitate those key moments can come from such blatantly obvious places that we can so easily miss them, especially once we reach a state of maturity." - RTÉ
“beautiful...jubilant and joyous...it’s funny and full of existential weight. It just gets better and deeper on every reading, wholly unexpected, so skilful, he certainly an instinct for telling stories” - Mike McCormack
“Oh what a light touch, it was magic. It made me think of Italo Calvino’s essay on Lightness in Six Memos for the Millennium. The characters just sprang up fully formed and it was so funny and touching and utterly cinematic. And it reminded me of one of my absolute favourites Frank O’Connor but it’s definitely Colm McAuliffe and unique.” - Martina Evans
“A great story; it’s a beautifully light, unforced narrative. Lean ort!” - Bernard O’Donoghue