Wild Atlantic Women

At a crossroads in her life, Gráinne Lyons set out to travel Ireland's west coast on foot. She set a simple intention: to walk in the footsteps of eleven pioneering Irish women deeply rooted in this coastal landscape and explore their lives and work along the way. As a Londoner born to Irish parents, she also sought answers in her own identity.
As Gráinne heads north from Cape Clear Island where her great-grandmother was a lacemaker, she considers Ellen Hutchins, Maude Delap, Edna O'Brien, Granuaile and Queen Maeve among others from her unique perspective. Their homes - in places that are famously wild and remote - are transformed into sites of hope, purpose, opportunity and inspiration. Walking through this history, her journey reveals unexpected insight into emigrant identity, travelling alone, femininity and the trappings of an 'ideal' life. 
Against the backdrop and power of this great ocean, Wild Atlantic Women will inspire the twenty-first-century reader and walker to keep going, regardless of the path.

GRÁINNE LYONS is a writer and documentary-maker from London, where she lives. She holds an MA in Creative and Life Writing from Goldsmith's University and a BA in English Literature from the University of York. Her work has been published in The Irish Times and Aesthetica magazine and she was shortlisted for the Mslexia first novel competition in 2017. As a documentary producer, she has produced numerous arts and history films, including A Day in the Life of Andy Warhol for BBC4; Miss World 1970: Beauty Queens and Bedlam for BBC 2 and The Art of Japanese Life, also for BBC4. Most recently, she was writer on The People's Piazza: A History of Covent Garden, presented by David Olusoga and broadcast on BBC 2. Gráinne's parents are both Irish and now live in County Sligo, which is her home when she is in Ireland.

Prologue: Banba's Crown Malin Head, County Donegal  1. South Harbour Ellen Cotter: Cape Clear Island, County Cork  2. A Remote Country Ellen Hutchins: Bantry Bay, County Cork  3. Miss Delap Maude Delap: Valentia Island, County Kerry  4. Big Peig Peig Sayers: The Great Blasket Island, County Kerry 5. The Ships Charlotte Grace O'Brien: Foynes, County Limerick  6. The Cliff Edge Edna O'Brien: The Cliffs of Moher, County Clare  7. On Aran Úna McDonagh: Inisheer, County Galway 8. Glassala Kate O'Brien: Roundstone, Connemara, County Galway 9. Queen of Clew Bay Granuaile: Clare Island, County Mayo  10. Maeve's Cairn Queen Maeve of Connacht: Knocknarea, County Sligo  11. Cold Water Mountains Easkey Britton: Rossnowlagh, County Donegal  Epilogue: Due North Malin Head, County Donegal  Acknowledgements Bibliography About the author