Margaret Mulvihill (born 8 March 1954) is an Irish writer. She has published four novels and many works of non-fiction.

Life

Margaret Mulvihill was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and studied history and politics at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

. She completed her M.A. in economic and social history at

Birkbeck, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...

. Reviewing Mulvihill's first novel, ''Natural Selection'' (1985),

Eden Ross Lipson Eden Ross Lipson (February 2, 1943 – May 12, 2009) was an editor at ''The New York Times'', a scholar and children's books writer. Lipson studied political science at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1964. She actively ...

wrote in ''The New York Times'': "The plotting may be operetta-awkward, but the prose is often wicked and consistently amusing."

Hilary Bailey Hilary Bailey (19 September 1936 – 19 January 2017) was a British writer, critic and editor. Life Bailey attended Newnham College, Cambridge, where she was a founder-member of the Cambridge University Women's Union. She was born in Brom ...

reviewed Mulvihill's second novel, ''Low Overheads'' (1987), in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'': "Margaret Mulvihill is a natural writer and bounds along comically with verve and energy, side-swiping St Perrier and the blessed Placenta and many other targets as she runs."

Mary Morrissy Mary Morrissy (born 25 January 1957) is an Irish novelist and short story writer. She writes on art, fiction, and history. Morrissy is an elected member of Aosdána, Ireland's academy of artists and writers. Life Morrissy was born in Dublin. A g ...

wrote in ''The Independent'' about Mulvihill's third novel, ''St Patrick's Daughter'' (1994): "Mulvihill has a deft comic touch and a sure hand with verbal slapstick. The irreverent subtext, littered with the superstitious vocabulary of the catechism – purgatory, baptisms of desire, the children of Fatima - brings alive the world of Irish Catholicism, in all its richness and trumpery, far more effectively than a grim dose of realism." Her non-fiction work includes a biography of

Charlotte Despard Charlotte Despard (née French; 15 June 1844 – 10 November 1939) was an Anglo-Irish suffragist, socialist, pacifist, Sinn Féin activist, and novelist. She was a founding member of the Women's Freedom League, Women's Peace Crusade, and the I ...

(1989), a biography of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

(1990), an account of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

(1989) and ''The Treasury of Saints and Martyrs'' (1999). She was a UEA Writing Fellow at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

in 1989. She has contributed to ''New Writings Two'', published by the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

, the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', ''The Electronic British Library Journal'', and the ''Fish Anthology, 2007''.

Works

Novels

* ''Natural Selection'', Pandora, 1985. * ''Low Overheads'', Pandora, 1987. * ''Saint Patrick’s Daughter'', Sceptre,1994. (serialised on ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

'') * ''The Leaving Coat'', Kindle Edition, 2013.

Non-fiction

* ''The French Revolution'', Franklin Watts, 1989, * ''Roman Forts'', Gloucester Press, 1989, * ''Charlotte Despard: A Biography'', London, 1989. * ''The Treasury of Saints and Martyrs'', Marshall Editions/Viking, 1999.

References

External links

Margaret Mulvihill blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulvihill, Margaret Living people 1954 births Writers from County Dublin Irish women novelists 20th-century Irish novelists 21st-century Irish novelists 21st-century Irish women writers 20th-century Irish women writers Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London