I would like to thank the Skibbereen Heritage Centre where I did much of the research for the book.
Huge thanks are due to Philip O’Reagan of the centre for his invaluable assistance, his patience and kindness, and his insights into the life of Dr Dan Donovan and Skibbereen at the time of the Great Famine.
Thanks also to Margaret Murphy, Skibbereen Heritage Centre’s genealogist, who helped me with Dr Donovan’s family history.
Thanks to Father Patrick Hickey for meeting me. His book, Famine in West Cork, is a huge source of local information.
To the town of Skibbereen. Walking its streets and lanes, and seeing Abbeystrewery graveyard and the Old Steam Mill on Ilen Street where the soup kitchen once was, made it easier to write such a story.
Special thanks also to Professor Christine Kinealy for her absolute dedication to researching the period of the Great Hunger, and to the Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University, Connecticut, US – a wonderful resource.
To Caroilin Callery of Strokestown Park House – the National Famine Museum – in Roscommon, for her huge commitment to creating even more awareness of the Great Irish Famine.
To my cousin Paddy Murphy for a piece of Skibbereen lore he shared with me.
My thanks go to my publishers, Transworld, and the team in both Ireland and London.
Special thanks to my editor, Fiona Murphy, for the enthusiasm and support she gave to me and the book during the long journey from page to print, and also to my London editor, Francesca Best. Huge thanks are also due to my copy-editor, Rebecca Wright, for her insightful suggestions and her patience working on such a big book, and to production editor Viv Thompson, Donna Hillyer, Josh Benn and Orla King.
To Fíodhna Ní Ghríofa in Dublin and Katie Cregg in London for their creative publicity campaigns, and huge thanks to Marianne Issa El-Khoury for her great cover design.
To my agent, Caroline Sheldon, for her constant support and friendship over the years, and to Rosie Buckman, my foreign rights agent.
To all the bookshops and booksellers, your support over the years is very much appreciated.
Thanks to all my writer friends for their encouragement and wisdom, especially Sarah Webb, Martina Devlin and Don Conroy.
My final thanks go to my wonderful family. My kind and patient husband, James, who has been by my side since I started this writing journey.
My children, Mandy, Laura, Fiona and James, and their partners, Michael Hearty, James Hodgins, Mike Fahy and Se Young An, and my grandchildren, Holly, Sam, Ben, Max, Evie, James, Alex and Harry.