O’Rourke gets personal and reaches for her pen

NON-FICTION: Letters of My Life, By Mary O’Rourke, Gill Books, €16.95

Mary O’rourke Pic: Getty

Though she left frontline politics nearly six years ago, Mary ‘Mammy’ O’Rourke has continued to occupy a space in Irish public discourse as a frequent contributor on television and radio.

She is the archetypal matriarch whose plain-speaking style has endeared her to many up and down the country. This approach has also ensured she has not suffered the same unpopularity and disdain that many other high-profile figures in past Fianna Fáil governments have. ...