Seosamh Mac Grianna was one of the greatest writers in the Irish language, and is acknowledged by many as the foremost Irish-language writer of Ulster. In 1935, aged 35, he finished working on the novel, "Da mBiodh Ruball ar an Ean". It was to be his final work, and was followed by a serious deterioration in his mental health. The novel remained unfinished, and although Mac Grianna lived to the age of 89, he never again put pen to paper. The novel has remained a subject of debate among literary critics to this day. Ruball an Ein takes up where Mac Grianna left off, to finally complete the original novel. Taking on another author's work is a daunting task, especially a writer of Mac Grianna's status. Mac Lochlainn has, however, risen to the challenge. He has slipped inside Mac Grianna's skin and his mind, successfully adapting his style and language in order to give us a satisfactory ending to the original novel. "I had a number of reasons for taking on Mac Grianna's unfinished book. His work left a great impression on me, so there's an element of homage involved. I also thought that I could add a twist to the story, and bring political intrigue to the fore.
It struck me that there are so many similarities between the politics described by Seosamh and the politics of our own time. So, it's really a book about the current political situation, despite its being set during the Second World War."
