2 Dawson Street – Headquarters of the Irish Volunteers

Posted on 02/03/2016 by fionaconlonmckenna

2 Dawson Street Spring 2016

It’s hard to believe that this modernised building was once headquarters of the Irish Volunteers. At one stage they had over a hundred thousand members training and drilling all around Ireland.

It was in 2 Dawson Street that at Thomas MacDonagh, Sean MacDiarmada, Padraig Pearse, Joseph Plunkett and many of their friends met and made their plans for the upcoming rebellion. The building was under constant surveillance by the police, who watched and marked down the comings and goings of the rebels.

Nellie Gifford ran her small employment bureau in a room there which Thomas MacDonagh and his fellow volunteers kindly agreed to let her use. She was determined to help young Irish men avoid being conscripted in to the British army. Nellie interviewed Michael Collins in her office in January 1916 and introduced him to Joe Plunkett, who offered Collins a job to help with the financial accounts and affairs of the Plunkett family.

It is easy to pass this building on Lower Dawson Street, across from Trinity College, without any awareness of its important place in history.

I am hoping that in time Dublin City Council will mark it with a plaque or some form of recognition.

Burke Medal and Rebel Sisters – number one bestseller

Posted on 18/02/2016 by fionaconlonmckenna

I was very honoured this month to receive the Burke Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Public Discourse through the Arts from the College Historical Society (the Hist) in Trinity College Dublin.

The Hist is the world’s oldest undergraduate society, and set the model for debating societies throughout the British Isles and United States; in Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Yale.

The College Historical Society was founded in 1770 and it was there that Edmund Burke, Theobald Wolfe Tone and Robert Emmet first made steps into political debate. Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett, were all former members and medallists.

The Hist is the venue for so many important speeches and debates in Trinity College and has been addressed by Douglas Hyde, Winston Churchill, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and many world renowned figures.

Previous Burke Medal recipients included writers W.B Yeats, Salman Rushdie, Jung Chang and Hilary Mantel and actor Ralph Fiennes.

Standing in Trinity College surrounded by such a history, I was very proud to receive the Edmund Burke Medal. I really enjoyed meeting and talking to the students of Trinity College and members of the Hist. I will always treasure this very special medal and honour.

There was more good news at the end of last week when I discovered that my new book, Rebel Sisters, is number one in the Original Fiction bestseller list in Ireland. Thank you so much to all my readers.

Rebel Sisters Book Launch

Posted on 08/02/2016 by fionaconlonmckenna

I was very honoured to have my book launch for my big 1916 book, Rebel Sisters, held in Dublin’s National Library on Thursday 4th February 2016.

The library is one of my favourite places and so much of the research for the book was done there, that it was very fitting. Sandra Collins, the Director of the National Library of Ireland was so generous to host the launch and made everyone feel very welcome.

Eoin McHugh, head of Transworld Ireland said more kind words. I was overwhelmed by playwright and author Frank McGuinness’s praise for the book. As Frank read a chapter from Rebel Sisters, he seemed to bring the words to life and held everyone present spellbound.

I was very privileged also that some family members of those that took part in the 1916 Easter Rising also attended.

It was such a very special night with family and friends and some of my fellow writers there too. My agent Caroline Sheldon and editor Francesca Best both came over from London to join in the celebrations.

Gathered in this wonderful, much loved building, surrounded by the National Library’s 1916 Commemoration Display, which included words and photographs of so many of the people that I have written about in the book, was strangely perfect.

I found it all very emotional as my very first book Under the Hawthorn Tree was also launched in the National Library over 25 years ago.

The celebrations and party for Rebel Sisters continued in nearby Davy Byrne’s (it is mentioned in the book).

Thanks you so much to everyone for coming along. It was a wonderful night that this grateful writer will never forget!

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Rebel Sisters – Saint Brigid’s Day

Posted on 01/02/2016 by fionaconlonmckenna

It’s the 1st of February and not only am I celebrating St Brigid’s Day and the start of Spring, but also the official publication date for Rebel Sisters, my big 1916 book.

St Brigid’s Day has always been a very special day for me, as it is a celebration of women and all things creative. As my book is about the Gifford sisters and the women of 1916, it sort of seems fitting.

A box of books has arrived from the printers and I find it hard to believe that after all the researching and writing, Rebel Sisters is finally published.

Now I just need to find some rushes and reeds and to make a St Brigid’s Cross…

1916-2016 Commemoration in Schools

Posted on 18/01/2016 by fionaconlonmckenna

All across the nation, we are all getting ready to mark the Centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising. There will be hundreds of events over the next year commemorating The Rising and the men and women who were involved in the fight for freedom, that ultimately lead to Irish independence.

Children in schools all around Ireland will play their own part in marking the 100 Year Commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising. The Irish Army will present each school with the Irish flag and also with a copy of the 1916 Proclamation.

I was very privileged to attend this special ceremony in my little grand-daughter’s school. Two army officers came along to meet all the children and tell them about the importance of the Irish flag and the meaning of the 1916 Proclamation. I found it a powerful and moving event, as I could not help but think of Padraig Pearse’s small school ‘Scoil Eanna’ – where it all started over a hundred years ago. It was there that he and some of his fellow teachers had a dream of an independent, free Ireland.

As the army officer stood up and read the Proclamation aloud, with the help from one of the girls, I could not help but feel emotional as I sat there watching, knowing that Thomas MacDonagh, Padraig Pearse, James Connolly, Joe Plunkett, Tom Clarke, Sean MacDiarmada and Eamonn Ceannt would most certainly approve and be pleased that their words and actions were not forgotten.

On 15th March 2016, these flags will all be raised in schools across the countryside and flown to mark and remember the 1916 Easter Rising. The children will also write their own modern day Proclamation.