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Marita Conlon-McKenna

まりた・こんろん＝まっけな

Marita Conlon-McKenna

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1956-11-05 （Dublin）
Nationality
Ireland
Languages
English
Residence History
Dublin, Goatstown → Stillorgan, County Dublin

Career

Occupations
Writer
Active Years
1990-2024
Affiliations
Irish PEN (former chairperson)
Memberships
Irish PEN
Nominations
Shortlisted - Bisto Book of the Year Award (Safe Harbour, 1995), Shortlisted - City of Poitiers European Grand Prize for Children's Novels (1994)

Education

Convent of the Sacred Heart, Mount Anville
Country: Ireland
Deferred university place to care for her father

Awards

Bisto Irish Book of the Year Award
1993
Work: The Blue Horse
Category: Book of the Year
Organization: Bisto
Result: 受賞
International Reading Association Award
1991
Work: Under the Hawthorn Tree
Organization: International Reading Association
Result: 受賞
Reading Association of Ireland Award
1993
Work: Under the Hawthorn Tree
Organization: Reading Association of Ireland
Result: 受賞
Frankfurt Book Fair Children's Choice Book Prize
1993
Work: Under the Hawthorn Tree
Organization: Frankfurt Book Fair
Result: 受賞
Austrian Children and Youth Book Prize
1994
Work: Under the Hawthorn Tree
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Under the Hawthorn Tree

1990 Historical fiction, children's fiction

A historical children's book depicting three children fleeing the Great Famine in Ireland, the first of the Children of the Famine trilogy.

Great FamineFamily bondsSurvival

Wildflower Girl

1991 Historical fiction, children's fiction

Second book in the Children of the Famine trilogy, following a girl emigrating to America.

EmigrationAdaptationHope

Fields of Home

1996 Historical fiction, children's fiction

Conclusion to the Children of the Famine trilogy.

HomecomingIdentityHistory

The Blue Horse

1992 Children's fiction

Story of a sick girl and a magical blue horse.

IllnessMagicHealing

The Magdalen

1999 Historical fiction

Story of a young pregnant woman sent to a Magdalene Laundry in 1950s Ireland. Her debut adult novel.

Magdalene LaundriesPregnancyOppression

Rebel Sisters

2016 Historical fiction

Historical novel based on the real-life Gifford sisters involved in the 1916 Easter Rising.

Independence movementWomen's rolesFamily

The Hungry Road

2020 Historical fiction

Historical novel set in Skibbereen, County Cork during the Great Famine, inspired by Dr. Daniel Donovan's diaries.

Great FamineMedicineSurvival

Bibliography

  • Under the Hawthorn Tree (1990)
  • Wildflower Girl (1991)
  • The Blue Horse (1992)
  • Safe Harbour (1995)
  • Fields of Home (1996)
  • No Goodbye (1997)
  • In Deep Dark Wood (1999)
  • The Magdalen (1999)
  • Promised Land (2000)
  • Miracle Woman (2002)
  • The Stone House (2004)
  • The Hat Shop on the Corner (2006)
  • The Matchmaker (2008)
  • Mother of the Bride (2010)
  • A Taste for Love (2011)
  • A Girl Called Blue (2003)
  • Rebel Sisters (2016)
  • The Hungry Road (2020)

Translations of Works

  • Under the Hawthorn Tree translated into over a dozen languages

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Child-accessible yet honest depictionsExtensive historical researchEmotional storytelling
Recurring Motifs
Family trials through historical eventsChallenging life situationsIreland's past

Legacy

Prominent Irish author of children's and adult historical fiction. Best known for Famine-themed Under the Hawthorn Tree, which achieved worldwide success and is taught in classrooms. Published over 20 books, many bestsellers.

Trivia

  • Married to James McKenna with four children.
  • Promoter of the arts and former chairperson of Irish PEN.
  • Inspired by a radio report on an unmarked Famine-era grave under a hawthorn tree.