Author meets the public in Kilcullen

Dawn Behan with Maria McDonald.

Author Maria McDonald had a stream of people coming in to Crean's Place on Friday morning last to meet her and chat about her book 'Charlie Mac', writes Brian Byrne.

She was understandably nervous about her first such 'meet the public' event, but Dawn Behan of Woodbine Books was there to help her through the process.

Your editor had a fascinating chat with Maria beforehand, about how she came to write the story of her great-grandfather — a Protestant from East Belfast who married a Catholic from rural County Down and whose life was abruptly ended in sectarian murder.

Maria's search for her family history is a detective one in its own right. I'll be writing more about that during the coming week. Meantime, 'Charlie Mac' is available to buy in Woodbine Books.

Kilcullen Diary Policy on Photographs. Kilcullen Diary Privacy Policy.