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Eileen O'Finlan was born in November of 1963 in Springfield, Massachusetts and has lived in New England all her life. Both of her parents were born and raised in Vermont, which Eileen considers her home-away-from-home. Growing up in a history-loving family where dinner conversation often revolved around the American Revolution or the Peloponnesian War, it’s not surprising that she went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in History. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Ministry. A former long time member of the Worcester Writers Workshop, Eileen now facilitates a writing workshop from her home in central Massachusetts. She lives with her 91 year old mother for whom she cares and her two adorable and rather spoiled cats, Smokey and Autumn Amelia.
Eileen loves to weave stories of historical fiction with strong, but very human, characters who prevail against the odds. Fascinated by the unusual and little-known aspects of history her goal is to create a magical experience for readers in which they encounter the unexpected. Eileen attributes her interest in the paranormal, which also makes its appearance in her writing, to the facts that she lived in a haunted house at a very young age and that she has a deep Celtic spirituality.
Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite
Kelegeen by Eileen O’Finlan is a wonderful story, a tale of a people and a place in trying times. It is Ireland in 1846 and while engaged couple Meg O’Connor and Rory Quinn are happily preparing for their wedding, while they join other villagers in the moon dance, they are unaware that a painful scourge is about to hit the land. The people who depend on the soil for their livelihood wake up a few days after the moon dance to a horrible sight — their crops are being destroyed by blight. The people have known hunger, but this time it is something different. Meg and Rory work hard to find other ways of providing for their family, but tragedy and their own mistakes end their source of income. Only one way is left to save their families and Meg is ready to grab the opportunity, no matter how uncertain it seems: she will join the ship to America, and hopefully bring their families after.
This is a compelling story filled with emotion, a beautiful story beautifully told. It features memorable characters like Father O’Malley and the British Doctor, Martin Parker. The author captures the culture of the Irish people with skill, creating a setting that readers can easily visualize. The writing is confident and gorgeous, filled with wonderful descriptions and dialogues. Eileen O’Finlan has a gift for plot and character and readers feel the sense of despair in the community and Meg’s resolve to find solutions. The conflict is introduced from the moment the villagers discover the blight and how the lives of the characters are changed irreversibly. Kelegeen features themes of love, family, friendship, and survival. It is a gripping story that is suspenseful and hard to put down, filled with historical references and social commentaries that allow readers a glimpse of the Irish soul.
