Maura Murphy, née McNamee (6 September 1928 – 5 October 2005) was an Irish writer. Her autobiography Don't Wake Me at Doyles became a surprise hit upon its publication in 2004.
Maura Murphy | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mary McNamee 6 September 1928 Clonmore, County Offaly |
| Died | 5 October 2005 |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Occupation | Writer |
Early life
editMary McNamee was born in Clonmore, near Edenderry, County Offaly, one of the seven children of John McNamee and Mary Ann Hannon McNamee. Her father was a labourer.[1] She left school at age 14.[2]
Career
editMurphy worked as a domestic and in other part-time jobs; she kept a diary through much of her life, as she raised nine children. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1999, at age 70. She began writing her autobiography Don't Wake Me at Doyles shortly thereafter.[3] The book, though somewhat comical in tone, focuses on her life of hardship and poverty, and is critical of the Roman Catholic Church's stances on women, divorce, and contraception. It also includes diary entries by her adult children, as they visit during her illness.[4]
Murphy's autobiography was "a surprise best-seller" upon its publication in 2004.[1] Publishers Weekly praised the book's "skillful storytelling and optimistic spirit" and called it a "hopeful, spunky sister to Angela's Ashes," the Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography of Frank McCourt.[5]
Private life
editMaura McNamee married John Murphy in 1953; they moved to Birmingham in 1959, where he worked in a tire factory.[6] They had nine children born between 1953 and 1963. Though their marriage was often unhappy and they separated several times, she and her husband maintained a life-long connection. John Murphy was present during Maura Murphy's death in 2005, in Birmingham, aged 76 years.[4][7]
References
edit- ^ a b "Maura Murphy". The Telegraph. 24 October 2005. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "Maura Murphy". Headline Publishing Group. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "Maura Murphy | Authors". US Macmillan. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ a b Adams, Bernard (14 October 2005). "Maura Murphy". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "Don't Wake Me at Doyles: A Memoir (review)". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "St. Patrick's Day 2005: An Accidental Author". Irish Echo. 17 February 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "MURPHY : Death notice". Irish Times Family Notices. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
External links
edit- Maura Murphy, Don't Wake Me at Doyles (Headline Book Publishing 2005). ISBN 978-0755313051