A Wee Bit of Irish Literature

Well, what would the month of March be like without a wee bit of storytelling…by strong Irish writers? Immersed in a strong culture of storytelling as a young girl, I’ve always been told I too have the ‘gift of gab’! But that is the ‘gift’ (much to my teachers’ chagrin) that was the main claim to fame of any of my Irish/Murphy relatives. The Blarney. I make no apology for it! What I love best though, is when a fellow Irish man/woman puts it down on the page.

It’s been a triple treat for me to read these three lovely, though provoking stories by these grand writers!

was one such writer! Her main character, Mary Agnes Coyne, at thirteen, is forced to leave Ireland a bit of a scandal, not of her fault, but inflicted upon her by her mother. Landing in NY, she tends to the children in a tenement apartment before finally landing in Chicago with fairly affluent relatives who send her off to find work along with room and board. Her last stop is Colorado, where I finally felt the weight of her saga beginning to lessen, when perfect strangers helped her to assimilate and finally feel she had a home. With themes of love and loss, of abandonment and more, Ashley E. Sweeney makes the plight of the Irish immigrant come to life through her wonderful prose and her incredible ability to spin a relatable tale! My own mom was 17 when she came to this country, but through the eyes of this author, I felt a renewed sense of just how hard that long journey, and the life that followed could be!

THE IRISH GOODBYE, by Heather Aimee O’Neill was another Irish gem. Very different in its storyline, the Ryan sisters come together for a celebration of Thanksgiving for the first time in many, many years, under the shadow of the loss of their brother Topher, following a boating accident. Their parents, now in the later stages of life, are most happy to have them all together under the same roof. However, as in every family, the past is the extra character that still lives in this household tainted by the accident and the loss that followed. When Cait invites a visitor to join them, the family spins into a whirl and conflict and tension grows. The story is fabulous, the characters well drawn, leaving me wondering as I worked my way through…piecing together all that had happened so long ago. Themes of guilt and innocence, along with redemption and religion are woven within this very tight plot.

I just had the absolute pleasure of reading SAIORSE, by Charleen Hurtubise! I actually listened to it on Audible while walking my dog for longer and longer stretches at a time! A bit of a psychological thriller, it drew me in with the strong voice of Sara/Saoirse, with a full immersion in back story, then forward propulsion moving the plot along in a puzzle like profusion. I just love this type of book! It spun me through situations in landscapes both here in the US, but mostly in Ireland where I had to figure out who this main character really was and why she’d come to be the talented artist she’d become. I loved the descriptions of the Irish countryside, the family dynamics with religion (in the 1990’s) at its core and the characters that both lifted her up and even those who trapped her and tore her down. Had me cheering for her from start to finish! In the end, I returned to the first three chapters to read the beginning again, so I was sure I’d put the pieces of the puzzle together and gotten Saoirse just right! Absolutely loved it! Publishers Weekly called it ‘a knockout!’ I hardily agree!

https://ashleysweeneyauthor.com/about/

https://www.heatheraimeeoneill.com