1949: A Novel of the Irish Free State

· Irish Century Book 3 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Mil Nicholson
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15 hr 41 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook

Morgan Llywelyn's masterly epic, the Irish Century, continues in 1949, a sequel to 1916 and 1921.



The struggle of the Irish people for independence is one of the compelling historical dramas of the twentieth century. 1949 tells the story of Ursula Halloran, a fiercely independent young woman who comes of age in the 1920s. The tragedy of Irish civil war gives way in the 1920s to a repressive Catholic state led by Eamon De Valera. Married women cannot hold jobs, divorce is illegal, and the IRA has become a band of outlaws still devoted to and fighting for a Republic that never lived. The Great Depression stalks the world, and war is always on the horizon, whether in Northern Ireland, Spain, or elsewhere on the European continent.



Ursula works for the fledgling Irish radio service and then for the League of Nations, while her personal life is torn between two men: an Irish civil servant and an English pilot.



Defying Church and State, Ursula bears a child out of wedlock, though she must leave the country to do so, and nearly loses her life in the opening days of World War II. Eventually she returns to an Ireland that is steadfastly determined to remain neutral during the war.

About the author

Author and historian Morgan Llywelyn was born in New York City to Irish parents. As a teenager, she moved to Texas and by the age of sixteen was showing horses at championship levels throughout the United States. She made the shortlist for the United States Olympic Team in Dressage in 1976, but did not make the team. She also modeled for Neiman-Marcus and was a dance instructor for Arthur Murray. She writes historical novels that deal with her Celtic roots and is recognized as an expert in early Irish history and folklore. Her first novel was The Wind from Hastings, but she is better known for her second novel Lion of Ireland: The Legend of Brian Boru, which was published in 1980 and has never been out of print. In 1990, she started writing for children and young adults. She won the 1991 Irish Children's Book Trust Bisto Award for Brian Boru and the 1993 Bisto Award in the Historical Fiction category and the 1993 Reading Association of Ireland Award for Strongbow: The Story of Richard and Aoife. She also writes short stories and has co-authored two fantasy novels with Michael Scott. She currently lives in Ireland.

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