Grace died in 1955 and was buried with full military honours in the Plunkett plot in Glasnevin Cemetery. Grace Gifford Plunkett is considered to be one of Ireland’s leading female artists. A ballad about her and Joe’s wedding became very popular and all those who visit Kilmainham Jail in Dublin hear of the tragic love story of Grace Gifford and Joseph Plunkett.
Isabella Gifford
Isabella blamed Countess Markievicz for influencing her daughters. Frederick Gifford died in September 1917, after which she sold the large house in Temple Villas and made her home in nearby Ranelagh. In time she was reconciled with her daughters and saw her grandchildren. Isabella died in 1932.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I owe huge thanks to my daughter Fiona Conlon-McKenna for your belief, enthusiasm and help in researching this book.
And thanks also to my husband James for your unstinting support through all my years of writing, and to my amazing family, Mandy, Laura, Fiona and James, my sons-in-law Michael Hearty, Mike Fahy and James Hodgins, and my pets Holly, Sam, Ben and Max.
I would like to express my grateful thanks to the following people and organizations who so generously helped me with the research for this book:
Muriel McAuley, for sharing some of your Gifford/MacDonagh family memories with me, and also her daughter, Michelle Drysdale.
Meadhbh Murphy, Archivist at the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, 23 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2. Thanks for all your help, for giving me the tour and also for sharing information and stories of the 1916 College of Surgeons’ garrison.
Attracta Maher (née Brennan-Whitmore) and her daughter Ann, for talking to me about William Brennan-Whitmore, father and grandfather, who served as Commandant in the Earl Street garrison and for giving me a copy of his wonderful memoir Dublin Burning.
Nancy Gallagher-Scanlon, for your kindness and help with researching the Gifford family.
Ann Clare, for your years of dedication and research in compiling and writing your marvellous biography of the Giffords, Unlikely Rebels, and for kindly agreeing to talk to me.
Sandra Galligan, for telling me about your grandfather Paul Galligan’s trip to Dublin on Easter Monday 1916.
The National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin: heartfelt thanks to all the curators and librarians who so kindly assisted me during the research for this book and were endlessly patient.
Kilmainham Jail, Dublin: special thanks to its staff and the wonderful guides and curators.
The Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London: a wonderful place to visit and my special thanks go to Robert Winckworth for your assistance.
The Pearse Museum, Saint Enda’s, Rathfarnham, County Dublin.
The National College of Art and Design, Thomas Street, Dublin.
The Bureau of Military History, Dublin: thanks to Hugh Beckett and Noelle Grothier for your assistance.
The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin: thanks to Harriet Wheelock.
The Church of Ireland, Representative Church Body Library, Churchtown, Dublin: thanks to Mary Furlong.
The National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin.
The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London.
And a special mention for my local Libraries in Stillorgan and Deansgrange for all their help and assistance in sourcing books.
Thanks as always to Caroline Sheldon, my wonderful agent, for your loyalty, encouragement and belief in my work, and to Felicity Trew. Also thanks to Rosie Buckman, my foreign rights agent.
For my editor, Linda Evans: after years working together I will miss your good humour, friendship and encouragement. Thank you so much for everything.
Thanks to my new editors at Transworld, Harriet Bourton and Francesca Best, for your enthusiasm and for not being overwhelmed when faced with this big Irish book.
Huge thanks to my wonderful copy-editor Brenda Updegraff, production editor Vivien Thompson, Natasha Barsby and designer Sarah Whittaker. Thanks to everyone at Transworld UK for your support and hard work on yet another book.
And my special thanks to Eoin McHugh of Transworld Ireland for your support.
Thank you to all the team at Gill Hess in Dublin – Gill and Simon Hess, Declan Heaney and the wonderful Helen Gleed O’Connor – for all the years of looking after me and my books.
Thanks to Michael McLoughlin of Penguin Random House Ireland. It’s nice to work together again. Also thanks to publicity manager Patricia McVeigh for all your hard work.
Sarah Conroy, for your endless patience and help with my website.
Sarah Webb and Martina Devlin for your friendship, wisdom and encouragement.
Thanks to all my fellow writers for the endless book chats and to all my lovely friends.
And a big thank you to all the wonderful booksellers and bookshops that bring us writers and readers together.
For all my readers both at home in Ireland and overseas: thank you for being part of the journey and for reading my books.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marita Conlon-McKenna is one of Ireland’s favourite authors. Her books include the award-winning Under the Hawthorn Tree, set during Ireland’s Great Famine, which has been widely translated and published and is now considered an Irish classic. Her other books include the bestseller The Magdalen. She is a winner of the International Reading Association Award in the USA. She is a former chairperson of Irish PEN. She lives in Dublin with her husband and family.
Also by Marita Conlon-McKenna
THE MAGDALEN
PROMISED LAND
MIRACLE WOMAN
THE STONE HOUSE
THE HAT SHOP ON THE CORNER
THE MATCHMAKER
MOTHER OF THE BRIDE
A TASTE FOR LOVE
THREE WOMEN
THE ROSE GARDEN
For more information on Marita Conlon-McKenna and her books, see her website at www.maritaconlonmckenna.com
TRANSWORLD IRELAND PUBLISHERS
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www.transworldireland.ie
Transworld Ireland is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com
First published in the UK and Ireland in 2016 by Transworld Ireland
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Copyright © Marita Conlon-McKenna 2016
Marita Conlon-McKenna has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction though based on historical fact. Names, characters, places and organizations are based on real people and real settings but the incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.
Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781473508606
ISBN 9781848271999
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
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Rebel Sisters Page 34