Two wild Irish women

Constance Markievicz and Edna O'Brien made their mark in revolution, literature

In July I spent almost two weeks in the beautiful Republic of Ireland, traveling on a bus with a delightful company of traditional music fans and the Piper Jones Band from the United States. We visited a historic monastary site and Kilkenny Castle, learned about Ireland’s bloody twentieth century revolt against England, and, of course, spent hours in pubs listening to music. We ended our trip on the Wild Atlantic Coast, spending several nights in Dingle and Ennis. The place is so beautiful I can’t put it into words, but this picture will suffice.

As a history lover and insatiable reader, I naturally found some relevant books to peruse while traveling. The first were about the remarkable Irish Revolution leader Countess Constance Markievicz. The second were by and about the writer Edna O’Brien, who passed while we were there.

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