Wild Decembers (34 page)

So many people in Ireland helped me when researching the trilogy. For
Wild Decembers
I must single out Billy Loughnane, Francis Neilan, Michael and Mary Blake, Jack Keane, Rory Smith, Karl Smith, Michael Hayes, T.J. and Brenda McGuinness, Carole Guyett, Gerry Allen, Dermot and Rosemary Gleeson, Albert Kelly, Sean Corcoran, and, from the other side of the world, the inimitable Pete Barry. To each of them and to any others who have slipped my memory, immeasurable thanks.

Lastly, I could not have completed it without the insights of my son Sasha Gebler, a master builder.

E
DNA
O
'BRIEN
is the author of eighteen works of fiction, including the
New York Times
Notable Books and Book Sense picks
Wild Decembers
and
In the Forest
, and
Lantern Slides
, which won the
Los Angeles Times
Book Prize. In 2002 she won the National Medal for Fiction from the National Arts Club. An honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, O’Brien was born and grew up in Ireland and has lived in London for many years.