Hilary Conor Guest-blog post below.
How a tragedy and a passion to give voice caused me to self-publish a debut fiction novel focusing on Ireland’s Social History.
Back in March 2017 I was not a person who religiously watched the daily news bulletins or read the daily news-papers.
On March 3rd last year I called my mother to wish her a happy birthday. She related her gratitude and then asked me a question that was to change the direction of my life and the predominance of my thoughts forever. It was an innocent question about one of the biggest national scandals ever, that had broken that day. My mother asked:
Did you hear on the news that nearly 800 babies’ bodies were discovered in a septic tank in Tuam, Co Galway?
In that moment something took a tight grip on my heart. I still don’t know what it was, but it was painful, and I knew that somehow the scandal had deep resonance within me.
My mother went on to relate the story revealed on the news. Continue reading