A Song for Bridget : The prequel to Finding Tipperary Mary

by Phyllis Whitsell

ISBN: 9781907324901

Published: 2018-07

Based on the real-life of Bridget Mary Larkin, aka Tipperary Mary. We journey back to Ireland, to follow the story of a young girl, growing up without her father, who dies before she is born. At the age of 15, she finds the body of her stepfather, a man with a history of mental illness, who has hanged himself in the family home, leaving behind his natural daughter (Bridget's half-sister, Philomena). Following the death of her mother, Bridget finds love with a local lad, Bill. But when her brother - now head of the household - discovers the relationship, he stops it, threatening Bill - then beating and raping Bridget. Bill is forced to flee to England, while Bridget endures a terrible life at home at the hands of her brother. Finally, after giving birth to her brother's child at a single mother's institution, she has her child removed for adoption and she flees to England in search of Bill and a new life. She eventually tracks him down - and they fall into each other's arms....