MARYS SHADOW

Written by Irish author Kevin Mc Dermott in collaboration with teenagers in Dublin schools, this story of life in the city reflects the true lives and experience of young Irish people today.\r\n\r\nIn 2013 Kevin Mc Dermott undertook a project in Trinity Comprehensive, the secondary school in Ballymun, Dublin, to write a short novel that would be of interest to students who were not regular or confident readers. What they produced was a brilliant short novel entitled In Pieces, published by the Junior Cycle Schools Project (JCSP), a Department of Education initiative. After its great success in reaching young, reluctant readers around the country, Kevin was appointed as the Writer-in-Residence for the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, and set out to produce a second book.\r\n\r\nThis time around, Kevin worked with schools all over Dublin – for the most part in working-class areas including Crumlin, Ballyfermot, Ringsend, Coolock, Marino, Finglas, Whitehall, and the North Inner City. These writing workshops were open and conversational, and took place mostly in JCSP libraries within the schools. They provided a space that was creative, free, and a place for the teenagers to explore their identities as writers as well as their place in the world.\r\n\r\nAfter working with these young writers for many weeks, Kevin Mc Dermott produced Mary’s Shadow – a short novel inspired by the ideas, lives and voices of these teenagers.\r\n\r\nMary’s Shadow is funded by JCSP libraries and the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, and also supported by Poetry Ireland, the PDST and the Curriculum Development Unit. It is published by the JCSP Libraries in collaboration with Little Island Books.