Born in Dublin in 1956 and brought up in Goatstown, Marita went to
school at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Mount Anville, later
working in the family business, the bank, and a travel agency. She
has four children with her husband James, and they live in the
Stillorgan area of Dublin.
Marita was always fascinated by the Famine period in Irish history
and read everything available on the subject. When she heard a
radio report of an unmarked children's grave from the Famine period
being found under a hawthorn tree, she decided to write her first
book, Under the Hawthorn Tree.
Published in May 1990, the book was an immediate success and become
a classic. It has been translated into over a dozen languages,
including Arabic, Bahasa, French, Dutch, German, Swedish, Italian,
Japanese and Irish. The book has been read on RTÉ Radio and is very
popular in schools, both with teachers and pupils. It has been made
a supplementary curriculum reader in many schools and is also used
by schools in Northern Ireland for EMU (Education through Mutual
Understanding) projects. It was also filmed by Young Irish Film
Makers, in association with RTÉ and Channel 4. This is available as
a DVD.
Marita has written more books for children which were also very
well received. The Blue Horse reached No. 1 on the Bestseller List
and won the BISTO BOOK OF THE YEAR Award. No Goodbye, which tells
of the heartbreak of a young family when their mother leaves home,
was recommended by Book Trust in their guide for One Parent
Families. Safe Harbour is the story of two English children
evacuated from London during World War ll to live with their
grandfather in Greystones, Co Wicklow and was shortlisted for the
BISTO Book of the Year Award. A Girl Called Blue follows the life
of an orphan, trying to find who she really is in a cold and strict
orphanage. Marita has also explored the world of fantasy with her
book In Deep Dark Wood.
Marita has won several awards, including the International Reading
Association Award, the Osterreichischer Kinder und Jugendbuchpreis,
the Reading Association of Ireland Award and the Bisto Book of the
Year Award.
In her most recent bestselling novel for adults, The Hungry Road,
Marita has returned to the subject of the Irish famine.
'the details of the girls' daily lives and the characters of Blue,
Sister Monica and Jimmy Mooney catch and sustain the reader's
interest'
*The School Librarian*
'there is a sense of moderation rather than sentimentality in
Conlon-McKenna's writing, in so much as, the misfortunes and joys
that befall Blue are very much within the realms of reality and
probability. Set in the late 1960's, young modern readers should
find its treatment of universal themes such as friendship, hope and
acceptance relevant as well as poignant.'
*Deborah Buley - writeaway.org.uk*
back with a beautifully restyled cover for another generation of
readers to enjoy. An uplifting, warmhearted story … a tale that
moves and grips you until the last page
*Fallen Star Stories*
this novel has all the pathos of Marita Conlon-McKenna’s Under the
Hawthorn Tree … its new edition will be devoured at similar speed
by readers aged nine-plus
*Evening Echo*
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