I was sent a free copy of Out of Ireland by Marian O’Shea by Caitlin Hamilton Summie. All opinions are my own.
All Amazon purchase links are affiliate links which means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you)
About Out Of Ireland:
In the late 1860s in Bantry, Ireland, sixteen-year-old Eileen O’Donovan is forced by her family to marry an older widower whom she barely knows and does not love. Her brother Michael, at age nineteen, becomes involved with the outlawed Irish Republican Brotherhood, a secret organization dedicated to the violent overthrow of British rule in Ireland. Their fates intertwine when they each decide to emigrate to America, where both tragedy and happiness await them.
An exciting coming-of-age story of a brother and sister in an Ireland still under the harsh rule of the British, Out of Ireland brings alive the story of our ancestors who braved the dangers of immigration in order to find a better life for themselves and their families.
You can purchase Out of Ireland on Amazon.com
About the Author:
Marian O’Shea Wernicke is the author of Toward That Which is Beautiful, her debut novel published in 2020 by She Writes Press. She has also published a memoir about her father called Tom O’Shea: A Twentieth Century Man. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, to an Irish Catholic family, she entered the convent of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood at age sixteen and spent eleven years as a nun before leaving the convent and marrying Michael Wernicke, an electrical engineer from Pensacola, Florida.
Wernicke earned a master’s degree in English from the University of West Florida and went on to become a professor of English at Pensacola State College for twenty-five years. Upon her retirement from college teaching, Wernicke began her new life as full-time writer in 2010. She and her husband now live in Austin, Texas, near their daughter Kristin and son-in-law Max, and beloved grandson, August Michael.
“Wernicke’s prose has a charming lilt to it, and her meticulous descriptions of late-19th-century daily life in Bantry Bay capture the physical beauty of the landscape and the feelings of hopelessness in a land roiled by poverty, famine, and political turmoil. . . . An engaging, poignant, and ultimately uplifting story with a likable protagonist.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“As an immigrant to America in the 1800s, Eileen Sullivan faces what so many immigrant women have faced before and since: startling new freedoms alongside the cruelties of events beyond their control. Out Of Ireland is a love letter to the strength of women who came before us, full of beauty, pain, and—most of all—perseverance.”
—Stacey Swann, author of Olympus, Texas, a Good Morning America Book Club Pick
“Impossible dreams are realized in ways the dreamers didn’t imagine in this fine, heart-wrenching novel. Brother and sister Michael and Eileen emigrate from Ireland to escape poverty and British oppression only to discover unexpected challenges in the New World. A believable story based on history, with themes of hope, courage, devotion, and love, it will stay with you long after the last page has been turned.”
—Linda Stewart Henley, award-winning author of Estelle and Waterbury Winter
“Many Irish-Americans will see the stories of their own families in these pages. Wernicke skillfully brings life to history as her characters make the difficult passage from troubled Ireland to St. Louis’ infamous Kerry Patch.”
—Patrick Murphy, author of The Irish in St. Louis: From Shanty to Lace Curtain
My Opinion:
This novel was of interest as my father’s family emigrated from Ireland – later than when the characters in the book – so the history of the country has always been part of my life.
In this telling our heroine, Eileen, is forced into a marriage with a much older man to help out her family situation. Despite it not being happy she has a child and she finds her solace in caring for him.
As the troubles in the country escalate Eileen’s brother Michael is fighting British rule and his activities are bringing attention of a very bad kind to the family. Due to this he and Eileen (and her child) decide to head to America. But steerage is not kind to its poor passage makers and tragedy strikes.
What follows is a very readable and passionate tale of young people finding their way in a new land. A new land that that isn’t very welcoming at first. But strength, perseverance and ultimately kindness will out.
I found this, for the most part, a hard book to put down. It wasn’t until it was winding down that that the story started to lose its punch. Which is a shame for it is a powerful tale that resonates with a lot of folk. While my grandparents came over much later they still came to this country full of hope and they made themselves a new life and they did prosper and well, here I am. Thanks to courageous travelers from Ireland and Poland.
Rating:
4.5
