Dreams inspire trilogy of novels

Lifestyle – Judy Murphy talks to Boston author Jennifer Rose McMahon who uses her intimate knowledge of Galway as the setting for her debut novel called Bohermore which weaves history and fantasy

Bohermore – or The Big Road in Irish – is a name that’s as synonymous with Galway City as Staten Island is with New York. And it’s the title of the debut novel by Boston-born Jennifer Rose McMahon, who lived there while spending a semester at the then UCG in 1990.

Bohermore, the novel, is the story of 18-year-old Bostonian Maeve O’Malley, who to the surprise of her family and friends, suddenly decides to relocate to Galway instead of following her plans to study in Boston College.

Thus begins a story that weaves history and fantasy, with life and love in contemporary Ireland and which features locations including Bohermore and the former Snug in Garavan’s Bar.  For anyone who knows Jennifer, that will come as no surprise. She loved her time in Galway, reconnecting with her own family and finding love with a Salthill man, Dara McMahon, whom she subsequently married. They have four children, ranging in age from 20 to 14,

A series of “awake dreams” experienced by their youngest daughter, was the catalyst for Jennifer finally writing this novel – the first of a trilogy.

One set of her grandparents were from Mayo and her mother is an O’Malley – with that ancestry Jennifer had long been fascinated by the life and deeds of Ireland’s 16th century Pirate Queen, Grace O’Malley or Granuaile.

During Jennifer’s time in Galway in 1990, and on subsequent visits here with Dara after the couple settled in Boston, she carried out extensive research on Grace O’Malley and the history of Galway and Mayo.

She had long wanted to write a story featuring Granuaile. Then, finally, four years ago, “the final piece of magic happened”.

Jennifer’s daughter, who was 10 at the time, started to experience ‘awake dreams’ which her mother believes were probably caused by anxiety – the child was having visions of Jennifer getting hurt.

“And each time it happened to her, something would happen to me,” recalls Jennifer. She describes those occurrence as being most likely coincidence, but also thought it was “weird” and decided to write about it.

Maeve, the heroine of Bohermore is being haunted by visions from the past – and there’s an Irish twist to them, which is why she leaves Boston for Galway.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.