Page 22 - The 17th Percy French Festival: The Quest for Authenticity

Maeve is lecturer in Women’s and Cultural History at University
College Cork. She is author of Women of the Irish Country House,
!"+'–!%!$ (Liverpool University Press, $,!&) and several other
pieces on elite women in Ireland. She is currently exploring the
experiences of single women. Maeve previously worked at the
Higher Education Authority and the Irish Research Council.
She won Irish Research Council funding for her PhD (UCC, $,!()
and for her postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for the Study
of Historic Irish Houses and Estates at Maynooth University.
She is an elected fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

12 =,%)% . ’G7.Ry43

Michael ws born !)'%. He is the author f two novels, Priest and
The Trouble with Sarah Gullion, and numerous theatre works
including: Strawboys; Una Pooka; Misogynist; Hubert Murray’s
Widow; Sour Grapes; and Amazing Grace (all with the Abbey
Theatre), and over ten plays for other companies. He has been
awarded the Stewart Parker Award for Theatre, The Bank of
Ireland RTÉ award for excel lence in the arts and The Hennessy
Award for short stories. He has been Writer in Association with
The National Theatre in !))% and he was short-listed for the
Irish Times/Aer Lingus Literature Award in !)&). In $,,, he was
Writer Fellow at Trinity College Dublin and he was nominated
for the Jane Snow Award for Theatre writing in $,,%. He has also
=./9,%> D4Ry73: explored connections between theatre and performance art.

He was nominated for Best Male Performer, at the Dublin Theatre
Fringe Festival, $,,$, and he was the overall winner of Best Male
Performer Award at Dublin Fringe Festival $,,%. His eight books
of memoirs, chron icles of ordinary life in Ireland, which have been
number one best sellers, and recip ients of numerous awards. He
continues to perform in theatre, "lm, and one-man shows based
on his writings. His most recent memoir, I loved him from the day
he died, was published in $,$(. He is a member of Aosdána.

Paul grew up in Rooskey, Co. Roscommon. Having previously worked
for the Longford Leader and Longford News, he spent !+ years as Editor
of the Roscommon Champion, before launching the Roscommon People
with his wife, Fiona, in $,,*, and is its Managing Editor. For many years
he edited the Roscommon Association Yearbook. He is author of "ve
books to date, on subjects ranging from sport to politics to social his-
tory. He is an occasional contributor to Phoenix magazine.

5,A> ,;42H

•CF • THE P ERCY FRENCH FESTIVAL "#"$