New Memoir Describes A Young Girl’s Move To The Gaeltacht In The 1970’s

Following a doctor’s warning to change his high-pressured job as a manager in Stanley’s Waterford Iron Foundry, Joe Foley, along with his wife, Ena, decided to uproot his family altogether and move from the elegant surroundings of Lower Newtown in Waterford city to the wilds of the Gaeltacht, An Rinn. It may have only been forty miles or so along the coast but, in the minds of the couple’s three children, it may as well have been Tasmania.

Catherine Foley is a child of two worlds: the city of Waterford where she spent the early years of her life and the Gaeltacht of Ring, where she grew up and still lives. Beyond the Breakwater is the story of her life, from the innocence of childhood to the loves and losses of adulthood. It is the tale of a life that has been shaped and honed by the salty landscape of the Ring Peninsula, a place that no matter how far she roams, always draws her back. From a brush with the glamour of Jackie Kennedy in Woodstown, to a ghostly vision in Rome, the author celebrates the memories and experiences that have made her who she is.

Beyond the Breakwater: Memories of Home is beautifully written, highly descriptive and follows Catherine’s life journey, including her time working with RTÉ, The Irish Times and TG4.

Published by Mercier Press, Beyond the Breakwater: Memories of Home Beyond the Breakwater: Memories of Home r: Memories of Home, will be available nationwide from Wednesday 11 April.  RRP €14.99, ISBN: 9781781175460

About the author

Catherine Foley is a full-time writer and broadcaster. A former staff journalist with The Irish Times, she is a regular contributor to the iconic Sunday Miscellany programme on RTÉ Radio 1. She has scripted, presented and co-produced a number of documentaries for the TG4, including programmes about Molly Keane, Frank Patterson, Donal Foley and Tom Clancy.