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Imagining Mary Martin – Puzzles, discoveries, and little contributions to the historical record – the story behind the writing of “The Princess of Connemara – A Novel”.
September 18 | 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
€10
Publishing his novel in April 2026, Alan Esslemont said, “I was always surprised that so little attention had been given to this fascinating and complex woman, Mary Martin, author, encyclopaedist, polymath, polyglot, benefactor, born and brought up in Ballynahinch, in the far west of pre-famine Ireland. I hope this story brings to life a vanished world, celebrates the gifted woman who was Connemara’s first published novelist, and shines some light on the mystery which surrounds her. She deserves to be remembered.”
Alan’s talk will discuss details of the research, carried out over a period of twenty years, which forms the basis for his historical novel, what Mary Martin’s creative work tells us about herself and about Connemara before the famine, and what are the unanswered questions about her life.