January 2010 Indie Next List
“In An Irish Country Girl, we return to Ballybucklebo and listen in as fey Kinky Kincaid, the housekeeper who smoothes the life of the village's doctors, weaves a tale based on memories of her earlier years in Cork, her family, the ghost that haunts the high hill, and her young dreams.”
— Becky Milner, Vintage Books, Vancouver, WA
Description
An Irish Country Girl is another captivating tale by Patrick Taylor, a true Irish storyteller, from the beloved Irish Country series.
Mrs. Kinky Kincaid is an unflappable housekeeper who looks after two frequently frazzled doctors in the colourful Irish village of Ballybucklebo. She is a trusted fixture in the lives of those around her, and it often seems as though Kinky has always been there.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Some forty-odd years before and many miles to the south, the girl who would someday be Kinky Kincaid was Maureen O'Hanlon, a farmer's daughter growing up in the emerald hills and glens of County Cork. A precocious girl on the cusp of womanhood, Maureen has a head full of dreams, a heart open to romance, and something more: a gift for seeing beyond the ordinary into the mystic realm of fairies, spirits, and even the dreaded Banshee, whose terrifying wail she first hears on a snowy night in 1922….
Maureen finds herself torn between love and her fondest aspirations in a journey that sets her on the road to Ballybucklebo—and to the strong and compassionate woman she was always destined to become.
About the Author
Patrick Taylor, M.D., was born and raised in Bangor County Down in Northern Ireland. Dr. Taylor is a distinguished medical researcher, offshore sailor, model-boat builder, and father of two grown children. He lives on Saltspring Island, British Columbia.
Praise For…
Praise for the Irish Country series:
"Patrick Taylor has become probably the most popular Irish-Canadian writer of all time." —The Globe and Mail
“Wraps you in the sensations of a vanished time and place.” —Vancouver Sun
“The author laces his heartwarming moments with liberal doses of whiskey and colorful Ulster invectives.” —Chicago Sun-Times
“Taylor’s Ireland is always a pleasure to visit.” —Shelf Awareness
“Hilarious and heartwarming.” —The Roanoke Times
“Heartwarming . . . The stories, shenanigans, and essential goodness of the doctors and townspeople continue to provide a welcome balm for their souls, and, in these tough times, for ours.” —Booklist on An Irish Country Welcome
“This book is written with compassion and hilarity about a community whose inhabitants are as wonderful and loony as any on earth. A grand read from a grand man.” —Malachy McCourt, New York Times bestselling author, on An Irish Country Doctor