MAGPIE -The Novelette

Exploring the highly complex narrative of “The Irish Mammy” from more than one perspective.

MAGPIE is a book some have referred to as a stream of Dublin consciousness from the 1970’s, female style. It is a short bite sized novel that explores the highly complex narrative of “The Irish Mammy.” Set within the realms of one young mother’s tale of selflessness and borderline obsession with the most historically prized of Irish possessions, the eldest son.

This is a story of unconditional love journeying along a road of bittersweet feelings between a mother and son, from cradle to grave. MAGPIE has been compared to raw Roddy Doyle (ism) as well as occasionally interpreted as reminiscent of Frank Mc Court’s unique manner of “misery” fiction. Fifty-three pages on the life of a single mother, struggling with societal drudgery within an inner-city Dublin of yesteryear, with an unexpected ending, fully loaded with underlying thought-provoking themes.

Mc Loughlin Dwyer, MAGPIE’S author, discovered a comfortable place writing prose somewhat late in life as a middle-aged writer. She is the middle child of a family of seven herself (mostly sisters) growing up in Dublin city. She witnessed each side of the track you might say, having relatives and friends from both sides of the River Liffey. She grew up and participated in most of the late 70’s Dublin/ Catholic rituals, from making her First Holy Communion to regular weekly Friday confessions, to listening to and observing the traders and buskers within the hallowed grounds of the Dandelion Market on St. Stephens green.

While viewed by most who have read this book as the sad demise of the weak and the hopeless, MAGPIE is ultimately a straightforward story of family politics, the love of a mother, and the consequences of difficult choices, but take heart! It does have the added bonus of a nostalgic trip around Dublin City Centre circa 1976 — to the present day.

If you are in the market for a short, but impactful read during a lazy lockdown weekend, accompanied perhaps by a mug of Lyon’s tea, this could be the book for you.

MAGPIE is available to purchase on www.amazon.co.uk or www.amazon.com