Beginner’s pluck: Filmmaker and writer Dave Tynan

The stories in 'We Used to Dance Here' explore frustrated ambitions, toxic masculinity, and life on the margins in a Dublin in flux

Dave Tynan has written many award-winning short films and one feature film.

As a child, Dave was into books and sports — especially football.

“I was a sensitive kid,” he says. “I once told my mum I wanted to own a flower shop.

“The house was full of books, but as a teen, I was big into films.”

Graduating from college in 2008, Dave tried to work in film.

“It wasn’t easy,” he says. “Within 18 months I moved to London, but I was stuck in dogsbody film work for a while.”

He moved home after four years when he had funding for a couple of short films, and he started writing stories around the same time.

“My first was published in 2016,” he says. 

I was making a lot of short films with friends with almost no budget, and it was great to have something else.

Since then, Dave has written many award-winning short films, and one feature film.

In 2018, when he had decided to write a collection of short stories, he took a course with The Stinging Fly.

In 2021, he was awarded an Arts Council Literary Bursary.

Who is Dave Tynan?

Date/ place of birth: 1985/ Dublin.

Education: Sandford Park in Ranelagh; National Film School in Dún Laoghaire, film and TV production.

Home: Dublin.

Family: Wife Anne Marie, and twin sister.

The day job: Filmmaker and writer.

In another life: “I’d be a DJ. Music is very important to me. As a teen, I loved rap and electronic music.”

Favourite writers: Denis Johnson; Cormac McCarthy; Tom Murphy; Toni Morrison; William Gibson; Kevin Barry.

Second book: “I have two projects on the go that are closer to novels than short stories.”

Top tip: “Write two things at once. You need to do a dozen drafts, and this way you can work on one, and give yourself time off the other one so it’s fresh when you come back to it. And keep going.”

Instagram: @dave_tynan.

The debut

We Used to Dance Here

Granta, €14.99

From broken love to newly formed familial bonds; from unfair eviction to the perilous consequences of a workplace accident, these stories explore frustrated ambitions, toxic masculinity, and life on the margins in a Dublin in flux.

The verdict: A memorable debut. These stories are bleak but big hearted; raw but genuine.