Maeve Binchy (32 page)
Authors: Piers Dudgeon
S
pecial thanks go to my publisher, Jeremy Robson, for giving me the opportunity to write this book, to Hollie Teague and the whole team at Biteback Publishing and The Robson Press for engaging with it with such enthusiasm, and to Maeve Binchy’s literary executor for wishing me well with it. Principally, I would like to thank my wife, Dee, for her textual research, support and advice, and the following for the generous help they gave me in the early stages: Evelyn Flanagan (Special Collections Librarian) and Eugene Roche, Special Collections, James Joyce Library, University College Dublin; Kate Manning, Archives, University College Dublin; Professor Declan Kiberd, Keough Professor of Irish Studies and Professor of English, the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA, previously Chair of Anglo-Irish Literature and Drama at University College Dublin; Ms Gerardine Hackett, Principal, Holy Child Killiney; Robin Adams, Librarian, and Iris Bedford, Admissions, Berkeley Library, Trinity College Dublin; Darragh Begley, Reference Team, National Library of Ireland, Dublin; Geraldine
MacCarthy, Holy Child Sister, past pupil and former Principal, Holy Child Killiney; Adrienne Lavelle, Susan McNally, Valerie, Patricia Hamilton, Tim Hannan, Dennis Reader, Molly Parkin and Barbara Taylor Bradford; Tom Dunne, Donal Falon, Rosemary de Courcy, Shane Caffrey, RTÉ Archives; John Glendon, RTÉ Radio Programme Sales; John of the Beach Guest House, Dunmore East; Gerard Walsh,
Ballybunion News
; Graham Montgomery, Dalkey Library; Nigel Curtin, Dún Laoghaire Library; Micheal O’Flaherty, Charleville Library. Finally it is with gratitude that I refer readers to the notes, which serve as a guide to the many documents I consulted in the course of my research. I would like to thank the publishers and authors of works quoted. While every effort has been made to trace copyright holders, I would be grateful to hear from any unacknowledged sources.
Market day in Charleville; Main Street, Charleville; Binchy’s bakery; and Binchy Park courtesy of Charleville Library.
Maeve’s father, William Binchy, flanked by two friends © Father Browne S. J. Collection, Irish Picture Library.
Mother St Dominic and the nuns of the Holy Child; and pictures of Maeve and her school friends courtesy of the Holy Child, Killiney.
Killiney Hill courtesy of National Library of Ireland.
Ballybunion in the 1950s courtesy of Tim Hannan and Clare Mulvihill.
The Mulcahy Orchestra courtesy of the Maurice Mulcahy Orchestra.
Daniel A. Binchy, Irish Minister to Germany in 1929 courtesy of Bundesarchiv.
Kevin Barry and Graduation Day at University College Dublin courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.
Gaelic Feis © Kennelly Archive.
Maeve, ‘the new woman’; the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement; William against divorce; Alan Gordon Walker; and Maeve’s funeral ©
Irish Times
.
Maeve in the landscape she loved © Ian Cook/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images.
End of Term
© Fergus Bourke.
Gordon Snell,
Leap in the Dark
© BBC Photo Library.
Maeve, Anthony and Rosie;
Firefly Summer
; author and editor; and Gordon and Rosie courtesy of Rosemary de Courcy.
Maeve and Gordon at home © Ian Cook/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images.
Maeve, St Patrick’s Day float © Richard W. Baron.
All other images author’s own.
- A. & C. Black
1 - Abbey Theatre (Dublin)
1
,
2
,
3
,
4 - ABC Shipping Guide, The
1 - abortion
1
,
2 - Aches and Pains
1 - Act of Uniformity (1559)
1 - Acts of Union (1800)
1 - Adam (character)
1 - Against Our Will
1 - Age, The
1
,
2 - Aidan (character)
1 - Aisling (poetic convention)
1 - Alice (character)
1 - Amnesty International
1 - Anderson, John
1 - Anderson, Mary
1 - Andrews, Todd
1 - Anglo-Irish Treaty (1921)
1 - Anne, Princess
1 - Annexe (coffee bar)
1
,
2
,
3 - Aoibhea (Queen of the Fairies)
1
,
2 - Aosdána (literary club)
1 - Apostrophes
1 - Arthritis Research Campaign
1
- Bailey, David
1 - ‘Ballad of Kevin Barry, The’
1
,
2 - Ballybunion
1
,
2
,
3
,
4 - Barnard, Christiaan
1 - Baron, Carole
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5 - Barry, Kevin
1
,
2 - Bates, Kathy
1 - BBC
1 - beatniks
1
,
2 - Beckett, Samuel
1
,
2
,
3 - Behan, Father
1 - Benny (character)
1
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2
,
3
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4
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5
,
6
,
7 - Bernays, Edward
1
,
2 - Berry, Chuck
1 - Berwick, Duke of
1 - Biggs, Christopher Ewart
1 - Binchy, Annie (grandmother of Maeve)
1 - Binchy, Daniel Anthony (uncle of Maeve)
1
,
2
,
3
,
4 - Binchy, Daniel W. J. (cousin of Maeve)
1
,
2 - Binchy, Irene ‘Renie’ (sister of Maeve Binchy)
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5 - Binchy, Joan (sister of Maeve Binchy)
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5 - Binchy, Kate (cousin of Maeve Binchy)
1 - Binchy, Maeve
- and abortion
1
,
2 - accidents
1
,
2
,
3
,
4 - and advice column
1 - and alcohol
1
,
2
,
3
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4
,
5
,
6
,
7
,
8
,
9 - and Annexe coffee bar
1
,
2 - appearance of
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6 - and arthritis
1
,
2 - atheism of
1
,
2
,
3 - attracts stalker
1 - awards received
1
,
2
,
3 - at BBC
1 - and Beckett interview
1
,
2 - becomes rich
1
,
2 - and betrayal
1
,
2
,
3
,
4 - birth of
1
,
2 - and ‘bodice-rippers’
1 - and book collecting
1 - and bra-fitting
1 - busyness of
1 - and card-playing
1
,
2 - and ‘case histories’
1 - Catholic upbringing of
1
,
2
,
3
,
4 - and cats
1 - and Certificate of Matriculation
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5 - and charities
1 - and chess
1 - and Child of Mary award
1
,
2
,
3 - childhood of
1
,
2
,
3 - childlessness of
1 - and Christmases
1 - and church attendance
1 - and classmates’ boyfriends
1 - and community values
1
,
2 - and consumerism
1
,
2 - and contraception
1
,
2 - critical press reviews
1 - crush on Marlon Brando
1 - and Cumann Merriman festival
1
,
2
,
3 - cuts off boy’s hair
1 - in Cyprus
1 - and dances
1 - death of
1 - and death of father
1 - and death of mother
1 - and Debating Society (UCD)
1 - and Diploma of Education
1
,
2 - discrepancy over age
1
,
2 - and divorce
1 - and duffel coats
1
,
2 - and dullness of Dalkey
1
,
2
,
3 - and ear piercing
1 - eavesdropping of
1
,
2
,
3
,
4 - education of
1
,
2
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3
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4
,
5
,
6
,
7
,
8 - encouragement for Irish writers
1 - and everyday lives
1 - and existentialism
1
,
2
,
3
,
4 - and facts of life
1 - and fashion
1 - and feminism
1
,
2 - and fiction-writing as a career
1
,
2
- and abortion
- and filming of novels
1 - first date of
1 - first story of
1 - and French exchange trip
1 - friendship with Gordon Snell
1 - friendship with Philippa O’Keefe
1 - friendship with Tom Dunne
1 - funeral of
1 - and gardening
1 - generosity of
1
,
2
,
3 - as ‘goddess’
1 - health of
1
,
2
,
3
,
4 - and heart disease
1
,
2 - height of
1
,
2
,
3
,
4 - hip replacement operation
1 - holidays in Ballybunion
1 - and honesty
1
,
2 - honeymoon of
1 - and hotels
1 - humour of
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6 - imagination of
1
,
2 - and Irish immigrant communities
1
,
2 - and Irish jokes
1 - and Israel trips
1
,
2
,
3 - and Jack MacGowran
1
,
2 - and Jesuits
1 - and joggers
1 - and journalism
- and Judaism
1 - kibbutz letters published
1 - lack of confidence
1
,
2 - lack of pretension
1
,
2
,
3
,
4 - and Last Supper
1 - and Latin
1 - and law
1
,
2
,
3 - laziness of
1 - legacy of
1 - and liberation movement
1 - lineage of
1
,
2
,
3 - and lip-reading
1
,
2 - loneliness of
1
,
2 - loss of faith
1
,
2 - loyalty of
1 - marries Gordon Snell
1 - as matriarch
1 - meets Gordon Snell
1 - mischievousness of
1 - moves back to Dalkey
1
,
2
,
3 - moves to London
1 - naming of
1 - nervousness of
1
,
2 - obituaries of
1 - and Omagh bombing
1 - and paperback rights to
Light a Penny Candle
1 - and partying
1 - personal writing style of
1
,
2 - philosophy of life
1
,
2 - as playwright
1
,
2 - and Polyvilla
1
,
2
,
3
,
4 - popularity of (at university)
1
- and filming of novels
- portrait of
1 - and prayer
1
,
2 - productivity of
1 - as protagonist
1 - and psychology
1 - and publicity tours
1
,
2 - and radio
1 - and rejection letters
1 - relationship with God
1
,
2 - relationship with Gordon Snell
1
,
2 - and relationships with women
1 - ‘retirement’ of
1 - and royal wedding article
1 - and RTÉ
1
,
2 - ‘sainthood’ of
1 - and school trip to Holyhead
1 - self-consciousness of
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
,
5
,
6 - and sense of belonging
1
,
2 - sex life of
1 - and skinny-dipping
1 - and smoking
1
,
2
,
3 - spinal infection
1 - and sport
1
,
2 - at St Leonards-on-Sea
1 - steeliness of
1 - success as novelist
1
,
2 - supported by Gordon Snell
1
,
2
,
3 - surrogate children of
1
,
2 - and symbolism of Ireland
1 - and tap dancing
1
,
2 - and teaching
1
,
2
,
3 - and tennis
1 - and
The Oprah Winfrey Show
1 - and The Sermon on the Mount
1
,
2 - timeline of
1 - ‘tortures’ of
1
,
2 - toughness of
1 - and Tradition
1
,
2 - and travel
1
,
2
,
3 - tributes to
1 - and the Troubles
1 - and truth
1 - and typing
1 - at University College Dublin
1
,
2
,
3
,
4 - and US market
1
,
2
,
3 - and veal casserole incident
1 - and Wales
1
,
2 - and walking
1 - warmth of
1
,
2
,
3 - weight of
1
,
2
,
3
,
4 - at White Rock resort
1 - and writing competitions
1 - and writing process
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
- portrait of