Home ⋅ Published Books ⋅ Athenry: A Famine Tale of Love and Survival

Athenry: A Famine Tale of Love and Survival
Share by Email Share on Messenger Share on Whatsapp Share on Whatsapp

By: Cathal Dunne
Publisher: The Mercier Press
Published: August 2025
Pages: 400
Categories: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literature
Language: English
Available as: Paperback, Ebook
On sale at:
ISBN-13: 9781917453943

‘Tell her I’ll come back to her; tell her I’ll find a way.’ Ireland, Autumn 1845. The potato blight turns green fields black overnight. A million will die. A million more will flee. But Liam O’Donaghue refuses to watch his family starve. In the shadow of Galway’s cliffs, Liam has carved out a life training Connemara ponies while working on his landlord’s estate and loving his wife Máire. When their newborn son arrives, their happiness seems complete. But when the Great Famine strikes with merciless fury, survival becomes the only currency that matters. One desperate night. One choice that changes everything. Torn from the only world he’s ever known, Liam must find his way across unforgiving landscapes, oceans and continents. From the desperation of the famine, where a man’s life is worth less than a bag of grain, to the abundance of Australian gold rushes, where he meets his friend Kumba. Together, they journey onward to the California gold rushes, chasing fortune and the hope of return. Meanwhile, Máire faces her own battle to keep their son alive in a land where hope itself has withered. From the green hills of Connemara to shores unknown, this is the story of love tested by impossible odds and the fierce determination of the Irish heart. An epic historical saga of survival, sacrifice and the unbreakable bonds of family.

Other Books From this Category

View More From This Category

Other Books From this Author

  • 1 Jan 2013 - Mercier Press

    Put Yer Rosary Beads Away Ma

    By Cathal Dunne

    'Put Yer Rosary Beads Away Ma: A Salty Tale of a Young Man's Musical Dreams and Struggles in 1970's Ireland' follows the hilarious exploits of a young man from Cork City as he struggles to make it big...

View More From This Author

About Us

Irish Interest in based on one very simple idea: to bring the contents of any Irish bookshop to people everywhere, especially those outside Ireland who do not have the possibility of keeping abreast of new books published in Ireland. The Irish Interest web platform is purely a provider of information about new publications. The aim of the site is to have every publishing house in Ireland adding their latest titles as they become available. Hyperlinks to each title bring users of the site directly to the publisher's web area or to a sales site where books can be purchased.

Privacy Policy

Irishinterest.ie and its owners strive at all times to preserver the privacy of all personal information stored on its website and servers. Information deemed to be private and confidential will not be communicated to any parties or divulged in any way. Cookies and similar technologies Irishinterest.ie and its owners are not responsible for external data collection entities. Third party sites with access to Irishinterest.ie may be able to acquire or assimilate data. Cookies and similar technologies can be utilized by third parties accessing our site without our knowledge.

Terms & Conditions

Irishinterest.ie, Irishinterest.com, and its owners take no responsibility for information issued on its site that is posted by third parties. It is the sole responsibility of the third parties who utilize the site for publication of any information to ensure that such information is correct and does not infringe laws and the rights of others who may be affected by publication of such information. Disputed material will be removed pending clarification.