Twelve well known ‘Marys’were recently unveiled as the subject of the newly-published and appropriately entitled ‘There’s Something About Mary’ book, compiled fittingly by another Mary– Mary Banotti, pictured right.

Coming from a strong political dynasty, Mary is well-equipped to write such a book, as she is a grandniece of Michael Collins and her sister is Nora Owen, former Fine Gael Minister for Justice.

Mary herself has been a prominent, respected elected representative in Ireland for many years and back in 1984 was first elected a Member of the European Parliament. There she worked on a variety of issues including environmental and women’s rights.

She is currently the European Parliament President’s Mediator for Transnationally Abducted Children and a well-known spokesman in this area. She was narrowly defeated by the current incumbent Mary McAleese in the presidential election of 1997. She resigned from the European Parliament in June 2004.

A large and enthusiastic crowd gathered on March 5th to celebrate the launch of Mary’s first foray into writing, with ten of the fourteen Marys featured putting in an appearance, including Ministers Mary Hanafin and Mary Coughlan and MEP Mary Lou McDonald. Broadcaster Olivia O’Leary had the privilege of launching the book and paid tribute to the achievements of these courageous women who, without exception, have made a significant contribution to the life of our country.

Mary is the first name of all the women Ministers in the government and of the country’s two women presidents to date. Such is the popularity of the name among Ireland’s women political office holders that children are inclined to believe that all presidents of the country are called Mary, claims Mary Banotti in her new book.

Through the pages of her new book, Banotti sets out to find out what unites all the political Marys and what drives them to take the risks that are essential for success.

Common themes running through the compilation include the nightmare of elections, public campaigns, caution about the media, experience of failure and backbiting, family pressures and profound relief when elections were successfully over.

The author states that no-one who has not had the multiple experiences of political life can imagine what these experiences are like… the experience of failure can be traumatic, particularly for women… “in my opinion women tend to take (failure) more personally and, if they fail, have difficulty in coming back for more.”

One issue that is discussed repeatedly is the ‘women can have it all’ cliché. Of all the Marys interviewed, it is notable that only two have young families, with Mary Coughlan and Mary Lou McDonald discussing candidly the trials of balancing family life with holding down a career in politics.

The perennial issue of combining family life with a demanding career is touched on by all the women, many of whom sacrificed family life to get to where they are today. The book provides a snapshot of the personal and political lives of these remarkable women.

‘There’s Something About Mary: Conversations With Irish Women Politicians’ is published by Currach Press, priced at €14.99 and is available at Books on the Green and other good book shops.

‘His Other Lover’
by Lucy Dawson

Modern technology has a lot to answer for in Lucy Dawson’s new book ‘His Other Lover’. Thirty-something Mia lives with her other half Pete and one night innocently glances at his mobile phone, only to see a suspicious and obviously intimate text from Liz, complete with kisses. This unexpected and unwelcome revelation sets off a serious of lethal events.

Mia has always trusted Pete and thought they had a good relationship. He is, she always believed the one and she dreamed of marriage one day, but fuelled by this one text, instead of confronting him, she begins to intercept his phone and as he sleeps at night she cannot rest and makes futile excuses to go downstairs and read his messages and discovers that he is hiding a mammoth secret world from here.

Clearly he and Liz are more than just friends. However, Mia will not give up her man without a fight and she decides to face this head-on. The other woman in her husband’s life becomes an obsession. Mia cannot work, cannot sleep and cries day and night.

She just about gets through each day, a shadow of her former self, and plays a game of cat and mouse with her boyfriend, pretending nothing is wrong, while each acts affectionately to one another, each harbouring a secret. Discovering an inner strength, Mia becomes manipulative and devious.

The story is compelling and a real page-turner but many times throughout the book the reader will ask themselves why Mia bothers to fight for her man who comes across as a selfish character and not worth the battle.

He obviously enjoys playing the game and is not as committed to their relationship as Mia is. Eventually, after a lot of phone calls, rows, sneaky suspicions and a dramatic confrontation, Pete’s cover is blown and there is a glorious cat-fight in which Liz and Mia come face-to-face and Pete is literally caught in the middle.

But is he worth it and what’s the outcome? Read ‘His Other Lover’ by Lucy Dawson, published by Sphere to find out.

‘Tear in the Other’
by Sami Moukaddem

Lebanese by birth but now resident in Sandymount, Sami Moukaddem has just published his second novel ‘Tear in the Other’, a book to appeal to the Irish who emigrated to make new lives for themselves abroad and to the recent influx of immigrants now making their home here in Ireland.

Describing it as a sequel to his previous novel ‘Smile in One Eye’, the book tells the story of one man’s life and his memories of growing up during the civil war in the Lebanon, his subsequent move to Ireland and attempts to integrate into Irish society, a move Sami knows all too well, as he has now lived here for over two decades.

So is the book semi autobiographical? In a way, yes he tells ‘NewsFour’. “I’ve written about what I know. I too studied in Ireland as the main character does.” Sami believes the book will be of wide appeal to several nationalities, thanks to its diverse content. It’s written in such a way that you can begin with either this book or his first ‘Smile in One Eye’. One is set in the Lebanon and one is set here.

This one follows a character growing up in Ireland and going to college and trying to assimilate into the Irish culture. He comes from a Muslin Arabic background and starts to find his feet in Ireland– it is basically seeing Ireland through his eyes and would be of great interest to Irish people to see themselves through a different perspective and of course Irish people have emigrated as well in the past so it would be of interest to them as well, Sami says.

As to the Ireland that he calls home today, how does he view it? “Well, Ireland has changed a lot in the last twenty years,” he says philosophically. “Even the last ten years are very different to the previous ten years and though this book is based on what I know, it is largely fictional. It’s quite humorous and it reflects on Irish society and politics as well and places Ireland in a large context.”

The penning of both novels took Sami two and a half years to complete and were, its plain to see, a labour of love. Both were self-published. “The reason I self-published was because I believed in my work one hundred per cent and I didn’t want publishers to change anything about the manuscript,” he explains of the lengthy publishing process. “I have a good three or four more books in me yet,” he adds confidently. “I’m putting my own money into it and I’m willing to take the chance. There will be a book out every year.”

When he’s not writing Sami is immersed in music and is currently in the process of releasing his fourth CD and bringing up his daughter, both worthwhile projects that keep him busy.

‘Tear in the Other’ is available at the price of €9.99 from Books on the Green.

‘The Fall Girl’
by Denise Sewell

Intriguing and moving are words are on the front cover of Denise Sewell’s latest book to describe the story of Frances Fall, her coming-of-age and her turbulent journey into adulthood whilst living in times past. Evocative, emotional and traumatic could also be thrown into the mix, thanks to a cold and harsh mother in stark contrast to a soft and loving father and the arrival of the mysterious Aunt Lily and the secrets she has brought which dominate this book throughout each page to its very conclusion.

The book opens with a now grown-up and obviously still traumatised Frances stealing a baby outside a shop in a bid to break away from the tragedy that befell her in her teenage years where she was one of the fallen women in more ways than one. Her story did not meet a happy ending and though she wanted to keep her baby she received no support from her appalled mother, rather revulsion at her sin.

Every so often the book fleets back and further between the present day and Frances’s teenage years and it can be hard to understand where it is going but once you get used to that system it becomes compelling reading and different from the usual ‘chick lit’ out there today.

In fact it is a very sad and moving portrayal of life in rural Ireland and the attitudes to unmarried mothers in times past and it would certainly make the reader ask themselves if we would deal with the situation any better in these times.