Winnie & George: An Unlikely Union - Softcover

Allison Murphy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1781174709 ISBN 13: 9781781174708

Publisher: Mercier Press, 2017

Synopsis

The remarkable true story of Winifred Carney, secretary to the Irish revolutionary leader James Connolly, and her husband George McBride, a staunch unionist. This is the previously untold story of two individuals who lived remarkable lives, both before and after their paths crossed. Enhanced with dramatised dialogue, it is a powerful lesson in how love, once discovered, can be greater than the sum of our divisions. Winnie and George came from different backgrounds and lived opposing lives. She was a Roman Catholic; he belonged to the Church of Ireland. She was a republican; he was a unionist. She was a member of Cumann na mBan; he had been in the Young Citizen Volunteers loyalist group. She carried a Webley gun in the GPO during the Easter Rising; he fought for the British Army at the Somme during the Great War. However, both shared a passion for fairness and the rights of the working class. Despite living in a Belfast rife with sectarian tension and oppostition from both their families a very unlikely, yet successful, marriage took place.

About this title

About the Author

Allison Murphy, an award winning Belfast teacher, was introduced to George's story by her mother-in-law, who nursed him in his last days. She encouraged her to research the background and tell his story. Allison took on the challenge and has set the story of these two remarkable characters in the context of their time, tracing them through letters and documents and imagining conversations that would have happened. Allison, author of 'Titanic Times' (1997) and 'When Dublin was the Capital' (2000), lives in Portaferry, Co. Down with her family.

Edition details

• Publisher: Mercier Press
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1781174709
• ISBN 13: 9781781174708
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352