She shares her insights on the importance of libraries and independent bookshops and reflects on her early literary success. Christine also reveals her plans for a new novella set in Venice.

THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT

• The Importance of Literary Festivals
• Early Inspirations and Writing Journey
• The Role of Libraries and Bookshops
• Future Projects and Personal Reflections
• A difficult childhood made her an observant writer.

GUEST DETAILS

Christine Dwyer Hickey is an award-winning Irish novelist, short story writer, and playwright from Dublin. Her acclaimed novel, The Narrow Land, won the Walter Scott Prize for Literary Fiction and the Dalkey Literary Award in 2020. That same year, her novel Tatty was chosen as UNESCO's Dublin One City One Book and was listed as one of the 50 Irish Novels of the Decade.

Hickey's other notable works include The Cold Eye of Heaven, which won the Irish Novel of the Year, and her play Snow Angels. Her short stories have won several awards, and her work has been translated into various languages. She is also an elected member of Aosdána, the Irish academy of arts. Her latest novel, Our London Lives, was published in 2024.

MORE INFORMATION

Find out more about her book at: https://christinedwyerhickey.com/books/our-london-lives/

Come and visit us at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco. https://www.pgil.mc

KEYWORDS

#PrincessGraceIrishLibrary #Ireland #ChristineDwyerHickey #IrishLiterature  
#OurLondonLives The Importance of Literary Festivals#LibrariesMatter

Carol talks about her latest novel, One Summer in Provence (Atlantic, July 2025), a story of betrayal, belonging and discovering love in unexpected places. She also shares highlights from her summer at Ireland’s leading literary festivals — the West Cork Literary Festival in Bantry, and Listowel Writers’ Week, where she adjudicated the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year award, won by Niall Williams.

We hear about Carol’s Irish roots, and why she describes herself as Irish-Mediterranean rather than British (The Irish Times, July 2025). She also discusses her acclaimed memoirs, The Olive Farm series, which have sold over a million copies worldwide, and her solo 17-month Mediterranean journey that inspired the ARTE/France 5 documentary The Olive Route and led to a UNESCO initiative.

The conversation expands to explore Grace Kelly’s world in Monaco in the 1950s, contrasted with life in Ireland at the same time.

GUEST DETAILS

Carol Drinkwater is a multi-award-winning actress, writer and filmmaker. She is the author of more than 20 books, including bestselling memoirs and fiction. Her Olive Farm series has become a classic of travel writing, while her novels and screen work continue to reach audiences worldwide.

MORE INFORMATION

Find out more at: https://www.caroldrinkwater.com

Come and visit us at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco. https://www.pgil.mc

We hear about our guests experience meeting Princess Caroline of Hanover, the story behind a letter from Princess Grace to President Éamon de Valera regarding an Irish pony and the story of a charming letter from an Irish mother suggesting her son become the King of Ireland's Eye. Even more fascinating is where that little boy is today!

GUEST DETAILS

Our guest Flor MacCarthy is a journalist and broadcaster who hosts political debates on Oireachtas TV (Irish parliamentary TV), interviewing politicians and academics in Ireland and at the European Parliament. A former news reporter and newscaster with RTÉ, she also presented a variety of cultural programmes on radio and television and has acted as a consultant for several international human rights organisations. Freelancing these days, and with a passion for history and the arts, she has contributed to numerous events in Ireland’s Decade of Centenaries. Flor is from West Cork and lives in Dun Laoghaire with her family. The Presidents’ Letters is her first book.

MORE INFORMATION

Find out more about her book at: https://www.newisland.ie/nonfiction/the-presidents-letters

Come and visit us at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco. https://www.pgil.mc

KEYWORDS

#PrincessGraceIrishLibrary #Ireland #Presidents #Letters #Monaco

Our guest is a man who has shared his amazing stories with us through a special talk entitled “Revolution to Royalty: The Making of an Irish-American Princess” here at the Princess Grace Irish Library. He is the author of the books ‘Crowdfunding the Revolution’ and the follow up ‘Revolution at the Waldorf’, Patrick O’Sullivan Greene. 

THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT

●        The transition of the Irish in America from ‘common’ to royalty 

●        How F. Scott Fitzgerald, Judge Daniel Cohalan and Jack Kelly broke down barriers 

●        The impact of Eamon de Valera’s arrival to America 

●        Why the marriage of Princess Grace was significant to the Irish 

●        Princess Grace and her deep love for Ireland 

GUEST DETAILS
Patrick O’Sullivan Greene published his first book, Crowdfunding the Revolution: The First Dáil Loan and the Battle for Irish Independence, in 2020.

Patrick was invited to make a courtesy visit to present the book to President Michael D. Higgins.

His second book, Revolution at the Waldorf: America and the Irish War of Independence, was launched in Ireland on the 2nd of December, and will be released in the United States in April 2023.

Patrick is a qualified Chartered Accountant who has worked in business and finance for most of his career, and is back in his native Killarney after living in Dublin, London, New York and France. He has written articles for the Irish Times, appeared on the David McWilliams Podcast, and has been interviewed on national and local media.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the Princess Grace Irish Library 

https://www.pgil.mc/ 

If you would like to find out more about Patrick, or his books, you can visit his website at www.myposg.com 

KEYWORDS

#irish #princessgrace #america #history #monaco

We are enlightened by Dan Neely, a prominent musician and ethnomusicologist who specialises in the music of Ireland.

THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT

●        Mick Moloney and his huge contribution to Irish music

●        Immigration and how it affects the sound of Irish traditional music

●        How a hundred year old band drove a passion for music in Dan

●        Keep the scene alive with the Irish Echo and Facebook

●        Why Dan studied ‘ice-cream truck’ music!

GUEST DETAILS
 
Dan Neely is a banjo player, journalist, and ethnomusicologist with specialties in the musics of Ireland and Jamaica.  He's also written on the history and aesthetics of ice cream truck music. 
 
Dan holds a PhD in Musicology from New York University, from 2011–2016 was the artistic coordinator of the Augusta Irish Week in Elkins, West Virginia, from 2008-2023 was the Public Relations Officer for the Mid-Atlantic Region of Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Éireann, since 2021 has been a board member of the Ward Irish Music Archives, and has written the weekly traditional music column for New York's Irish Echo newspaper since 2012. 

MORE INFORMATION

Find out more about Dan on his website: www.danieltneely.com
Discover the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco at www.pgil.mc

In addition to 44 years of service with Ireland’s diplomatic core, Daniel has written and lectured around the world on the subject of Irish literature.

His passion for this has furthered the impact and the reach of Irish writing around the world.

On May 10th we shall have the opportunity to listen and meet with Daniel in Monaco as he shares his presentation entitled 'Around the World with W.B. Yeats and James Joyce: A Diplomatic Odyssey'.

In this short preview podcast, Daniel share some great stories including;

01:47 The unlikely location abroad he discovered his passion for Irish writing
03:26 Yeats, Swaw and Wilde in Malasyia 
05:44 How these authors helped to expand Ireland’s ‘soft power’
09:50 The real meaning of Irish heritage for the global diaspora
12:40 How this applies to President Biden and Prince Albert
14:48 How he discovered the importance of words during the Good Friday Agreement
17:55 The powerful connection between literature and diplomacy

 'Around the World with W.B. Yeats and James Joyce: A Diplomatic Odyssey’ will take place at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco on 10th May 2023.  The event is a new collaborative venture with Glucksman Ireland House (NYU).  

For information and tickets, go to https://www.pgil.mc/lectures/a-lecture-by-daniel-mulhall