A new book celebrating the lives of women from Clonakilty and its surrounds, and the contribution they made to all aspects of society, has hit the shelves.
BY EMMA CONNOLLY
A NEW book celebrating the lives of women from Clonakilty and its surrounds, and the contribution they made to all aspects of society, has hit the shelves.
The 240-page collection of true life stories from more than 36 women aged 35 to 95, puts the spotlight on their everyday lives, through their careers, life events, and thoughts, all of which were affected by the history, economics, and politics of the time.
Written and compiled by New Zealand native Alison Wickham who has been living in Clonakilty since 1998, its entitled Irish Women Speak – Clonakilty Women of the 20th Century.
Alison wrote a slighter volume of such stories as part of the Clonakilty 400 celebrations in 2013 and sold 700 copies.
In her new self-published book she continued with her aim – to highlight the contribution women made to the country through stories which would otherwise have gone unrecorded. The foreword by local historian Dr Claudia Kinmonth, notes that: ‘The stories gathered span the spectrum of Clonakilty life. The women’s stories sensitively gleaned by Wickham include many detailed accounts, which are akin to gold dust to the historian, yet make fascinating reading for those familiar or unfamiliar with Irish rural culture. Those from the older women are especially revealing, as their memories reach back to times that now seem astonishingly primitive and different, in today’s world.’
The book is €15 and is available from Clonakilty Books; Coughlan’s and Kerr’s Bookshops in Clonakilty; Vibes and Scribes, Waterstones and Liam Ruiséal in the city, or from the publisher: Wickham Books, 3 Old Chapel Lane, Clonakilty.
