Books by Fiona Byrne

Born in Dublin (The Liberties) in 1927, Vera had a strict Catholic upbringing. Her father died when she was 10 years old and her mother was left to bring up three young children on her own. Vera's first passion was dressmaking. She started making dresses for her dolls at a very young age; this was such a passion for her that later, when she left school, dress-making became her full-time occupation - working for various fashion houses in London. Though she soon became exhaustingly busy with married life and bringing up three children, she decided in 1983 to keep a diary for a friend. This process started another passion: for writing and putting her thoughts and own personal experiences to paper. Over the years, Vera wrote another six diaries. This, her first diary, Diary of an Irish Mother, has been published posthumously (2018). It is a record of a time both familiar and forgotten, not so long ago but recalled vividly in Vera's sharp eye for detail, character and event. Despite tough circumstances and perhaps the worst DIY project you will ever read she retained her wit and good humour and sense of family and community. Vera passed away in 2014 in Surrey.