About "The Donegal Woman"

What people have said about the book

"Life-enhancing tale against the odds" - Review of 'The Donegal Woman' by Eamonn McCann >>READ FULL REVIEW

"Suffering In Silence" - Review of 'The Donegal Woman' by Nell McCafferty >>READ FULL REVIEW

"The author has succeeded in writing the story of his grandmother in a way that I hope will bring him many readers. The story is relentless in its savagery and the misery of the child tears at your heart, but he also has a wonderful lyrical quality to his writing which shows that there is a good writer at work here."
Jennifer Johnston. One of Ireland's most important writers.

"An unadorned, searing tale that reclaims from the often brutal and brutalizing conditions in remote rural Ireland the buried history of one woman's struggle to survive and rear her children. The Donegal Woman pulls no punches. It is a just memorial to courage and perseverance, shot through with sunbursts of innocence, love and natural beauty. A disturbing, unforgettable portrait."
Gerald dawe. One of Ireland's foremost poets.

"This is the story of a child who loses her childhood to a brutal, dehumanizing system. It is also the story of the man to whom she was 'sold' for her labor and for the money to buy a cow. Readers will readily sympathize with her as she battles to regain her humanity, but his story too, is told with extraordinary insight. We see how his spirit is fettered by the need to serve the landlord class as their agent and informer and how this links with his compulsion to control everyone in his world, especially Margaret, his wife. We are drawn in with sympathy and despair as he fights the terrifying desires which threaten that control. The accuracy of John Throne's analysis gives authority to an unorthodox tale. We look at the landscape of Donegal, its bogs, fields, cottages, with a new understanding."
Bridget O'Toole. Irish poet and writer.

"He leaves nothing out."
Mary Hamilton. Former deputy Mayor of Derry and sister of the author.

"Less than 100 years ago a form of slavery still existed in parts of rural Ireland - the hiring fair system. Children as young as seven or eight were sold for fixed periods by their impoverished parents to farmers who worked them to the bone, treating them often as little more than cattle. Often worse. The Donegal Woman is based on the true story of the author's own grandmother. Born to the poorest of Protestant farmers in the hills of Donegal, hired out as a child, raped by her new master, and then pregnant, forced to marry another man many times her age. But Margaret survived in a silent world of her own, driven by her passionate determination to do right by her children. Reviving the tradition of three of Ulster's great radical writers, Peadar O'Donnell, Patrick MacGill and Sam Hanna Bell, this author in his first novel, has captured the authentic voice of a woman of extraordinary spirit."
Irish Journalist and writer.

"John Throne, in this important and moving book, brilliantly conveys the real Donegal of a century ago."
Irish political and literary commentator.

"Hiring Fairs have inspired acres of print space, some telling it like it was, some hopelessly romantic, but none as harrowing as John Throne's The Donegal Woman. ...it does not make for easy reading but it must be read."
The Donegal Democrat. September 7th, 2006. Frank Galligan.

"A Donegal writer whose debut novel has been lauded by literary critics today said he never expected the book, based on the story of his grandmother, to receive such praise. Critics have compared the writer to Peadar O'Donnell and Patrick McGill. Mr Throne said he "central to his story was the desire to give his grandmother a voice. 'I was very motivated by the desire to let my grandmother be heard, to give her a voice. I tell the story of someone who is the victim of a system, but it is not the story of a victim. We see her grow stronger and become inspired through her role as a mother."
Belfast Telegraph. September 14th. 2006.

"I've just read a remarkable book by John Throne, whom many people in Strabane and Derry will remember from the early days of the civil rights movement. It's called 'The Donegal Woman.' John does not use the real names of the men involved nor does he pretend that every episode and detail is factually accurate, but the facts about his grandmother are too real and make for disturbing reading."
The Tyrone Herald. September 11th. 2006.

"A former Lifford man has written a book based on the true story of the extraordinary hardships faced by his grandmother as she struggled to raise a family in Donegal less than a century ago. 'The Donegal Woman,' by John Throne, has already received considerable acclaim for its poignant representation of his grandmother, Margaret's story. Throne's book, based on what he knows of his grandmother's life, is an attempt at last to give her a voice and to open an important, moving, window on life in Donegal less than 100 years ago. It is the voice of a woman who refuses to be crushed and who goes on inspired and motivated by her own children's needs to gain strength and desire for a better life as every year goes by."
Strabane Weekly News. Thursday 14th September. 2006.

"John Throne - a native of Lifford is the author of 'The Donegal Woman.' He has spent most of his 62 years involved in the labour movement as a radical organizer, He first became active in the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland in the late 1960's and went on to take part in the Derry uprising of 1969. 'The Donegal Woman' is his first novel. It is the story of his grandmother who was hired out, raped and suffered the most brutal treatment. Yet "whose passionate commitment to do right by her children strengthened her spirit and makes her life, as told here, an inspiring and deeply moving snf powerful story."
Finn Valley Voice. 6th, September. 2006.

"Ex-Pat author John Throne has written a first novel on a subject close to his heart: his Donegal grandmother Margaret. John explains in the introduction to the book that it is based on what his own mother told him about his grandmother one night when he went to visit her. 'The Donegal Woman'...has been seen by some as a platform for women's rights issues."
The Sentinel. September 20th, 2006.

"Lifford-born author's book inspired by barbaric and heartbreaking events. Publication sparked by conversation with his mother."
The Strabane Weekly News. 28th September. 2006.

These are some, but by no means all of the comments on The Donegal Woman.

In a recent trip to Ireland the book was reviewed in over half a dozen newspapers, the author was interviewed in four radio stations including BBC. He is returning to be interviewed on RTE radio, The Pat Kenny Show, the most popular show on this the national radio station. On the revent trip there were eight launches of the book throughout the country and one in London, England. The book is now in its third printing. The printers say they have never seen a book by a first writer sell in this way. The book is being distributed by Easons, Argosy and sold by Hughes and Hughes in the airports. But the main sales are the sales in the shops and gas stations in Donegal, the North West of Ireland and throughout Ireland as a whole. The book is becoming part of the story, part of the literature of the north West of Ireland.

John Throne.