Book Launch: I Will Be Good, A memoir of a Dublin childhood and a life less ordinary by Peig McManus

I Will Be Good

A memoir of a Dublin childhood and a life less ordinary

by Peig McManus

Meet Peig McManus, an unforgettable Dublin character whose story will make you laugh and cry.

Her memoir of a 1940s childhood is recounted with candour and wit, as she describes her early years in the last of the city’s tenements, under the shadow of the Second World War.

Even in the midst of sorrow, as the ravages of poverty and tuberculosis prevailed, there was always singing and laughter. Peig recalls happy family gatherings in their tenement rooms before their way of life was shattered when the slums were cleared, making way for the migration of inner-city families to Dublin’s new suburbs.

Peig learned early about class distinction, chastity and shame, and fought against social prejudice to become one of Ireland’s foremost campaigners for educational reform. But a quiet sorrow lay at the heart of her life, one which could not be hidden forever.

Now, in her eighties, Peig shares her story: an inspiring journey through the trials and triumphs of a remarkable Irish woman who refused to do what she was told.

Peig McManus was born in 1939 and grew up in one of the last of Dublin’s tenements, under the shadow of the Second World War. She learned early about social barriers and, from a young age, set about a path of community activism and educational reform. Peig trained as a therapist and worked for many national organisations. She worked in radio and television for many years, and pursued studies and practice in homeopathy and meditation. Now in her eighties, the mother of five recounts her journey to becoming herself in her unforgettable memoir I Will Be Good.