A blue plaque was unveiled yesterday at Cootehill Library in tribute to the nineteenth century Cavan writer Mary Anne Sadlier.
The local writer was honoured by the Ulster History Circle, just yards from where her family home and birthplace once stood at Market Street, Cootehill.
A voice for the Irish Diaspora in North America, Sadlier authored approximately 60 novels including ‘New Lights or, Life in Galway’ written in 1851, in which she became one of the first writers to address the story of the Irish Famine.
Mary Anne emigrated to Canada at age 24, at first settling in Montreal before settling down in New York following her marriage to James Sadlier.
Cathaoirleach of Cavan County Council, Cllr Philip Brady described Mary Anne Sadlier as a "hugely successful" author, publishing 60 novels, some of which were reprinted as many as sixteen times.
While Cllr Brady said it was "unfortunate" that more is not known of this great writer in her native county, he hopes this plaque, fittingly located in her hometown’s library, will help educate future generations about the great Irish novelist born in their midst.
Cavan County Library Service has a collection of Sadlier’s works in the Local Collection at Johnston Central Library and in Cootehill Library. A chapter on Sadlier is contained in the recently-published ‘Faith, Hard Work, and Endurance – Selected Tales from the Cavan Diaspora’ by Jonathan Smyth, on sale now.
