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We are not long sitting down discussing the book when one of the main characters walks through the backdoor, Da.
The opposite of the sometimes antagonistic portrayal in his son’s story, Da greets me warmly and excuses himself politely.
Much of John Connell’s The Cow Book centres on his sometimes turbulent relationship with his father.
It is the relatability of this relationship, not only for farmers but also the wider population, that has made this book a bestseller.
Author John Connell.
Telling John’s own story of readjusting to life on the family farm after nearly a decade of living abroad, the book gives a poignant insight into the daily running of Irish farms.
At the age of 20, as a journalism student, John left Ireland on a study abroad semester and didn’t return permanently for over nine years.
Upon coming back to his native Longford, John, who had previously penned the novel The Ghost Estate, yearned to write another book and settled into farming while waiting to make his next move.
Little did he know the answer to achieving his literary dream of writing a bestseller was right in front of him.
It was that whole thing of write what you know. It was the truest thing and the thing that was in front of me all my life.
"If I hadn’t been an emigrant, I wouldn’t have been able to come back and appreciate all that was around me.
"If I had stayed here, I probably would have been dreaming about going away – but the fact that I came back, I was able to say: ‘This is my culture and I’m really proud of it.’”
The 31-year-old acknowledges that he has a lot to thank his father for, as it is from him he gets the gift of storytelling and the love of farming from which the book was born.
“Ultimately, me and my father are exactly the same person,” says John thoughtfully. “My father is probably the best storyteller I know, all my abilities as a writer come from him, from listening to him. "There was the big row in the book, but again, other people from farming families who read it said: ‘That is exactly us.’
“The young bull and the old bull, I call it cattle rows. Whatever is said out there, you forget about it.
"Half an hour later it is all over and you have a mug of tea, you can’t stay angry with each other forever. We love cows, but there is something about them that can bring out the worst in you at times.”
Coming through
The Cow Book is nothing if not an honest portrayal of John’s life, and from his relationship with his father to mental health, everything is shown as is.
Depression is not something he shies away from in the book, but not something he wholly focuses on either.
John explains that mental health difficulties were once a prominent part of his life, but at the time in which The Cow Book is set, he had come through a lot.
In 2015 John went on 2FM discussing his efforts to overcome depression and subsequently a listener who had planned to take their life that day did not. This was a pivotal moment for the author. "I have had so many people write to me since the book came out and say that they went through this too. Conor Cusack, Bressie and Jim Breen, every time you hear another person tell their story it can help someone else.
"When I was in a bad place, listening to them helped me. I remember Conor Cusack on Prime Time and I thought, that’s what’s happening to me. That was something I connected with and it helped me through.
“The mental health thing had become a big part of my story, whereas in the book it is a very small thing.
Really, the book is about a man falling in love with life again and doing it through farming. A city can give you a career, money and food for your head, but it can’t really give you food for your soul.
Sitting in the exact spot in the room off the kitchen where he wrote the book, it is clear that John has indeed found the food for his soul for which he was searching.
He is already planning his next book, which will see him work on a cattle ranch in America and explore industrial-style farming.
After this trip, it is back to Ireland John will go, as along with writing more books, one of his other goals is to expand his herd.
“I had always wanted to farm but I said I would wait until I was a bit older, but then I kind of got back into it and I really realised how much I loved it.
"I’ve spent a long time in cities around the world and I always used to have a bit of an uaigneas (lonliness) for the land. When I came back, I just felt really comfortable and happy.”
The Cow Book is available now in all good book shops.
Anyone affected by the issues raised in this article can free phone the Samaritans on 116 123.
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