WE ALL KNOW an Aisling: she’s moved from the country to Dublin, she has a longtime boyfriend from back home, she carries her court heels into work in her Brown Thomas bag every morning, and she’s a fan of a shumper (that’s a jumper with a shirt collar already sewn into it – very practical).
Journalists Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen met in college in Dublin and bonded over being from Kildare and Carlow. The witty pair were inspired to create the character Aisling around 10 years ago after meeting lots of girls like her – and realising there’s a little bit of Aisling in all of us.
When they set up the Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling Facebook page a number of years ago to catalogue Aisling’s life and the antics of her friends and family, they never dreamt it would end up being so popular. But the page has just passed the 40k members mark, surpassing all expectations (no notions here).
And Aisling has proved to be such an enduring character that the pair have just published their debut novel, Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling, with Gill Books. It centres on the story of what happens when Aisling and Generic John (GJ) break up and Aisling has to start life afresh. It’s sweet, charming, funny and poignant – and just what OMGWACA fans were hoping for.
We asked McLysaght and Breen to introduce us to the novel, by taking us on a tour around some of Aisling’s favourite spots in Dublin city centre. Along the way, we found out about her favourite shops, the best place to get a scone on 8 December, and where Aisling goes on a night out (no prizes if you guess Coppers).
Join us at the weekend for our full interview with the authors, where we find out more about the story behind the book.
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