Galloping Green

About the Book

[Book Summary] Emigration seemed the only path to the future in 1962 when Marita O’Connell left Ireland for America with two bulging suitcases and $10 to finance her new life. Based on childhood diaries, Galloping Green: From Dear Distant Damp Dublin tells her engaging and humorous story of growing up with a mother whose family were British Protestants, and an Irish Catholic father with colorful republican ancestry. The second half shows Marita searching for a better life in America and recounts how her invincible spirit helped her to overcome numerous hurdles in her quest. Through example, Galloping Green shows readers that no matter what life presents, there is always another path “where the air will smell fresh and the sun will warm your face.”

About the Author

Marita O’Connell lives in Montgomery Village, Maryland, where her house overlooks a lake that enhances her deep connectedness to nature. She grew up in Dublin, Ireland, in the 1950s and, seeing emigration as her only road to a better life, she arrived alone in America in 1962. She has written diaries and journals all her life, accumulating about 800,000 words to date, but also has been employed as a writer and editor for more than 30 years. A gypsy at heart, she loves travel and adventure, but also likes being near her two adult children and her grandchildren.