An Irish Childhood by Mary McCaan

A moving memoir about growing up in the early twentieth century Northern Ireland.

Mary McCann invites the reader into the memories of her northern Irish girlhood. This is a childhood that was not easy and Mary’s story is a rich depiction of deprived life in early Northern Ireland. Filled with personal trials and struggles, Mary tells the story of how her impoverished life led her to cross the channel. Once in England, Mary travelled to London for work and eventually ended up settling down and having a family of her own.

Taking place in a time before modern day technology and the expectation of the media, Mary’s book is an important historical account of life in Northern Ireland at this time. This is a very real, raw account of one woman’s struggle in a large, poor, rural Irish family.

This is a memoir that will make you laugh and cry and route for Mary McCann as we learn about the struggles faced by many in the early twentieth century.