The Girl from Ballymor

by Kathleen McGurl

What would you sacrifice for your children?

Ballymor, Ireland, 1847

As famine grips the country Kitty McCarthy is left widowed and alone. Fighting to keep her two remaining children alive against all odds, Kitty must decide how far she will go to save her family.

Present day

Arriving in Ballymor, Maria is researching her ancestor, Victorian artist Michael McCarthy – and his beloved mother, the mysterious Kitty who disappeared without a trace. Running from her future, it’s not only answers about the past that Maria hopes to find in Ireland. As her search brings her closer to the truth about Kitty’s fate, Maria must make the biggest decision of her life.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Ireland, Fiction, Irish Literature, Mystery, Historical, Family

337 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 7, 2017

About the author

Kathleen McGurl lives in Bournemouth with her husband and cat. She has two grown-up sons who have now left home. She always wanted to write, and for many years was waiting until she had the time. Eventually she came to the bitter realisation that no one would pay her for a year off work to write a book, so she sat down and started to write one anyway. Since then she has sold dozens of short stories to women's magazines and written three books for writers. These days she is concentrating on longer fiction and has published several dual timeline novels with CarinaUK and HQ. She works full time in the IT industry and when she's not writing, she's often out running, slowly.

Reviews

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 *

What a fantastic Irish story! ☘️💚 What a bargain of a book! I got it for 99 cents on Amazon probably on special for St. Patrick's Day reading.

This was such a riveting and tragic story. It's a dual timeline story alternating between the past and present times. The first story takes place in Ireland during the potato famine and a mother's struggle to keep her family alive. It pulled at my heartstrings and I had tears streaming down my face in some parts. The second story involves a lady travelling to Ireland to research her family ancestry in order to write a book.

Both stories kept my attention equally and had me turning those pages quickly trying to find out what would happen. I will certainly read another Kathleen McGurl book again. I loved her storytelling style!

[Kellie O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic, beautiful and heartwarming tale of how much a mother would sacrifice to save her children. I'm Irish, so I am drawn to stories about Ireland 🍀 My Dad was born in County Clair, Ireland and came to America with his 3 brothers when he was 9 or 10 years old. We were raised hearing all the tales of fairies, leprechauns and changelings,ect. His Gaelic accent really drew us in😊

This is a duel timeline story alternating from the present to the past in Ireland. Maria is in the present searching for information about her ancestors Michael McCarthy and the disappearance of his Mother, Kitty McCarthy. She travels to Ballymor, Ireland where Michael McCarthy lived. Maria is writing a book about Michael, however in her search for answers about the McCarthy family, she becomes very interested in the life of Kitty. Her quest transforms her life in ways she never expected!!

Kitty McCarthy lived during the potato famine, also known as Great Hunger in Ireland. I really learned a lot about this famine which lasted in the years 1845-1850. Sadly millions died or emigrated to America and Canada for a chance to live. Michael is Kittys oldest child. She lost her husband and other children during the potato famine 😢She has a chance to save Michael while sacrificing herself... what would she do? How deep does a Mother's love run? What would you do ( if you are a parent) ? Meantime, Kitty disappears and no one knows anything about her. Michael spends his life searching for her💚

I was drawn to this book by the beautiful cover and I have read The Forgotten Secret by Kathleen McGurl and loved it!! She draws you in from the first word! The way she weaves these two stories about Kitty and Maria together is beautiful and keeps you turning the pages to see what happens next 🤔 I really had a hard time putting it down!! While Ballymor is fictional, it's based on real places in Ireland. She describes everything so beautifully from the green hills, valleys and mores that you feel as if you are there! It's spellbinding 🍀 This beautiful book is really well researched and you really care about the characters. There's also mystery woven in the pages!! Something for everyone!!

I highly recommend it to everyone!! Enjoy and Happy Reading! I really hope that you'll enjoy this beautiful book as much as I did.. it'll stay with me for years!! 💚🍀☘️

[Sally Coles · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the middle of the potato famine in Ballymor in Ireland Kitty McCarthy is struggling - with the potato crop failing again she is unable to feed her family - her husband was killed in a mining accident and four of her children have already died from starvation - luckily her oldest son Michael is working but Gracie her only other remaining child is weak from lack of food - Kitty is desperate to save her

In the present day Maria has arrived in Ballymor to research her ancestor Michael McCarthy a renowned artist....and especially to see if she can find out what happened to his mother Kitty the beautiful redhead who is the subject of many of his paintings but who he lost touch with and never managed to find again

A great book working well in the two timelines and I found the history of people living in Ireland through the potato famine fascinating as it is an area of history that I know little about - definitely worth reading as are the previous books by this author

[JoAnne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It really hit my heart hard because my great-great grandmother was from County Cork, Ireland where this book was set. I'm not exactly sure when they left Ireland but they came to the US in the 1880s.
The story was told in a present/past tense at the same time with characters Kitty, Michael and Maria searching for more in their lives.
Just lovely!

[Louise Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking tale of the Great Famine in Ireland. Both sides of the story were haunting.

[Aoife · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from Harper Collins exchange for an honest review.

In 1847 Ireland, Kitty McCarthy has to watch helplessly as her children die one-by-one from the famine ravaging the country. In present day Ireland, Maria McCarthy has travelled from England to Ireland to find out more about her ancestors, and uncover the secrets surrounding Kitty.

This was a book that was beautifully written, and the characters all easily came to life page by page. At first, I didn’t like Maria as a character as I found her a bit annoying and a complainer but then I soon grew really fond of her and by the end of the book I was so bird of the character growth she had had. Kitty was just a strong, wonderful mother prepared to sacrifice everything to give her children a future. At times she got a little bit lost with the focus on Patrick, her son, but I did love her and the mystery surrounding her that Maria uncovered.

The history of the Irish Famine was told in a really good, simplistic way in this book. It’s the perfect book to detail the harsh realities of what life was like for the poor Irish during this time without it being too much of an info-dump, and would be a great starter to ‘famine fiction’ for people who may know very little about the period of time.

There was a slight supernatural element at the end of it which was a bit out of place considering the way the rest of the book went but I actually liked. This was a quick, easy read and a very enjoyable one.

[Connie Lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about the sacrifices of motherhood. Not for the faint of heart. The present-day story is told by Maria McCarthy, who fears motherhood when she becomes pregnant. Her own “mum” was uncaring and distant, and Maria fears she might follow in her mother’s footsteps. As she researches an ancestor who was a famous artist, she becomes fascinated with his mother, Kitty McCarthy. Kitty lived during Ireland’s horrendous potato famine and her disappearance haunts Maria. We learn Kitty’s heartbreaking story in chapters that alternate between the present and the past, a popular formula these days.

The characters are compelling. And certainly, the dire situation Kitty faces is compelling. It’s hard to imagine going through what so many Irish families endured during that time.

[Shelby (catching up on 2025 reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up

I started this a few years ago on vacation, but as usual, my ambitious vacation reading time is never fully realized, 😆 so I only made it a few chapters before kids and outings took over. 🤪

Fast forward to the first weekend of March 2024: I was looking for a way to combine Irish history (for St. Patrick's Day) and Women's History Month, and remembered this book! I am SO glad I picked it back up, and can't believe it took me this long! I read this in a single day by combining my paperback and the audiobook (via Everand).

The Girl from Ballymor is a dual-timeline novel, blending historical fiction with contemporary fiction. The present day story follows Maria, a young woman who travels to Ballymor Ireland to conduct research for a book she's writing about her ancestor, artist Michael McCarthy. Grappling with some things back home - namely a boyfriend who's proposed, and a rocky relationship with her mother - this quaint Irish town and the charming townspeople she befriends provides Maria with time for some much-needed reflection and soul searching.

The historical timeline follows Kitty McCarthy in the mid 1800s. We meet her first as a teen girl, but mostly follow her years as a mother and widow. The majority of this story takes place during the Irish potato famine, and deals with the immense hardships faced by the Irish poor during the famine years. As Kitty is widowed, her situation is evermore diar as she struggles to provide for her starving children.

I loved this!!! While I initially felt more invested in Kitty's story (and couldn't wait to get back to it each time it would switch to Maria's 🙈), by the end, I was equally invested in both. McGurl found a way to weave these two seperate stories together in such a beautiful way, each being a tribute to motherhood and mother/child bonds.

Having studied Irish history in college, I already knew a great deal of the famine from a historical standpoint.... but this is why I love historical fiction so much: it personalizes history and makes it so much more impactful. McGurl does a wonderful job introducing the reader to characters they come to care about. I was fully immersed in the lives of these women and their families.

McGurl writes with such simplicity. There is no flowery prose to be found here. But as you'll see from my rating, that's not a bad thing. It works here. It also makes this a bit more accessible to reluctant readers, I think, as it really is an easy read (not the content, but the writing). And it especially works with the audiobook, which was fantastically narrated by Avena Wallace. I hadn't heard Wallace prior to this, but I'll definitely be seeking out more of her work after this!

All in all, The Girl From Ballymor is a stirring, heartbreaking novel of a mother's love and sacrifice.

Add this to your St Patty's day TBR, friends!

[.christine Kindlen · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful read, was hard to put it down and sorry when i finished it. Can't wait for the next Kathleen McGurl book !

[Sarah Dunnakey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book swept me away to 19th century and modern day Ireland. Heartbreaking in parts with its description of life during the Famine, but beautifully written and I was totally engaged in the characters in both timelines. I particularly loved Kitty for her strength and determination. Highly recommended if you love authentic and well-told historical novels.

[Claire Mc Partlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting, and quite sad, story set in the present day and during the Irish potato famine in the mid-1800s.

There are alternate chapters between Maria from the present day, who is researching her family history and most specifically Michael McCarthy, and Kitty in the 1840s, Michael's Mother, struggling to keep her family alive.

Maria has come to Ireland from the UK on her own, leaving her boyfriend at home. He has just proposed and Maria is thinking about it, but because of her family history, she is unsure if she wants to get married. And there's another issue that initially she hasn't told him about too. So she's taking the time away to try and get her head around things.

I found Kitty's side of the story more interesting than Maria's, I found Maria a bit of a hard character to like, whereas you had to really admire Kitty for doing whatever she could to try and keep her family going. It was such a very hard life and you felt so sorry for her, and everyone else caught up in it. If they could get the money together for the fare to sail to America it's no wonder people were leaving for a, hopefully, better life as it really couldn't have got much worse in Ireland at that time.

At least all Kitty's sacrifices were worth it for Michael, as he managed to become very successful and have a happy life. And even if he sadly didn't manage to solve the mystery of what happened to his Mother, it was finally resolved by accident in the present day by Maria and some others, another very sad part of the book.

A very atmospheric, sad, but ultimately uplifting story that I will long remember.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trite and full of cliches: one character has a "fevered brow" and later "breathed her last", the author credits an editor in the acknowledgments, who should have ensured such phrases were removed. It's set in Ireland, and every Irish character says "to be sure" and similar hackneyed phrases at least once. There are two parallel plots, one present day & the other in 1847-48, at the height of the Irish famine. The 19th century one limps along and ends like a damp squib, & the modern one is taken up with the main character, Maria, whining about her relationships with her mother and boyfriend, non-stop. She is supposed to be researching her great-great-grandfather Michael's family, as he came from the area she is visiting, but this was one of the parts I found quite puzzling, as he is said to have had 5 children & it would be reasonable to think that there would have been numerous descendants, the more elderly of whom could have filled in quite a bit of back-ground for Maria. There's nothing to suggest that Michael had never spoken about his childhood to his children, as he adored his mother - the "girl" of the title. The other major irritant is the cover - no Irish peasant girl in 1830 would have been dressed like that! (I blame the publisher, not the author, however.)

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Kitty's chapters, but the others I just kinda skimmed through. It wasn't that they were bad, but the dialogue felt stilted and I just didn't want to hear the protagonist's struggle with motherhood and her bad childhood any more.

[Kathryn J H Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book I’ve read from this author and I’ve loved every one of them. However, this has been my favourite!
I LOVED the character of Kitty and was absolutely heartbroken with everything that happened to her. Such a great read.

[Marinda Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! A mix of historical fact and fiction. What's not to love about an Irish setting!
A beautiful unfolding of what a mother will do for her children.
Always sobering to consider how much loss mothers/parents have endured throughout history, due to wars, disease, famines, poverty etc.
We are so spoiled in this generation...we truly do not know hunger, in any way, shape, or form really.
I'd for sure read other things by this author.
Ps. I made potatoes for dinner 🤣

[Deborah O'Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kathleen McGurl is getting better and better with each book. I love the two stories one in the past and one present day and how they always come together in the end. The one in the past is set in County Cork (not far from where I live ) and during the Famine or The Great Hunger as we call it here. Would really recommend this book.

[Ash · Rating 1 out of 5]

It might be unfair cultural bias, but an English author writing about the Irish famine left a bad taste in my mouth.

Add thin characters, an uninteresting main character and every Irish character finishing sentences with "to be sure" and you have a bland mess.

The Great Famine was probably the biggest tragedy to ever happen in this country and the British were to blame for most of the loss. It was simple genocide. The author doesn't seem to understand this, and I never felt that the desperation and tragedy of the time were properly explored.

This book makes it look like the potatoes failed and that was it. There is a brief mention of the famine roads, but no exploration into their tragedy.

The English were the ones that shipped other food from Ireland and left us dependent on potatoes in the first place. They purposefully starved the Irish population. They continued sending food to Britain and stationed guards to stop the starving Irish from stealing from the ships. They banned hunting and fishing and exported farm animals. They refused to send aid. They evicted poor and dying Irish families from their homes.

There is no sign of that British callousness in this book, perhaps not surprising.

There is the awful English landlord, who raped the teenage Kitty and impregnated her, but then later regrets this because he was young and arrogant. My heart bleeds.

Even Under The Hawthorn Tree, a simplified children's book, tells a better tale of the famine than this.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5 stars*

This was an excellent book and a real page turner. I enjoyed the dual timelines, especially because the two main characters, Maria and Kitty, were connected through blood. The storyline for Kitty tied up very nicely. However, I was disappointed that there was no epilogue with information about Maria's wedding, baby, etc.

I did find the way that Maria and her mother so easily made amends a little hard to believe. After decades of emotional abuse/neglect, it's hard to believe that anyone would be so forgiving (as in the case of Maria) or so willing to open up (her mother) all of a sudden.

That being said this book really gave a heartbreaking account of what life was like during Ireland's Great Hunger. I especially enjoyed Kitty's story and would recommend this book highly!

[Kara Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Your typical historical fiction with dual timelines. I was so sad for Kitty and her plight. The Great Famine is such a sad stain in history. The current day storyline didn’t draw me in as much as I had hoped it would. Good if you need a book set in Ireland for a reading challenge.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, very well written. I have read other books about the famine but this one was outstanding in the dual timeline aspect.

[Nessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a truly magnificent story, which has evoked so many different feelings within me, some of joy, some of anguish (at how some people were treated back in the day) and a fair bit emotional too.

The author Kathleen has woven such a beautiful emotional story which captivates the past and present and moulds them together as one story.

It didn't take me long to be drawn into the stories of Kitty & her family back in 1847 and that of Maria in present day.

I thought the story was brilliantly well written, it's clear from the details within as to just how much research the author Kathleen must have done, she really has done a magnificent job. As for the characters they were all so very well portrayed and believable, I really did just lose myself within all of their individual stories. I truly felt for Kitty in 1847, everything she had to deal with/go through, not to mention the sacrifices she made.

As a teenager I was never one for history in school, found it dull and never held my attention, but having read this book, of which a fair amount of the story is devoted to past history, a specific part which evolves around famine, I have learnt a lot and have thoroughly enjoyed it. It's been quite an eye opener, this tale has been.

So last words, if you love books that tell a story in the present and in the past then I can highly recommend this beautiful tale which is heartbreaking, emotional, gripping, suspenseful and will keep you on the edge of your seat right to the very last chapter.

[Douglas Larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful but tragic story beautifully written tells the tale of two women and their loved ones. It alternates between present day Maria McCarthy who is researching her ancestor, Michael McCarthy a renowned artist from the 19th century and Kitty McCarthy, a woman in Ireland in the 1840's and Michael's mother. Kitty and her husband Patrick and their children all struggle to survive the Irish potato famine in the tiny village of Kildoolin, walking distance from the town of Ballymor in county Cork.

Kitty loses her husband to a mining accident and then 3 of her children to starvation. She struggles to survive extreme poverty and starvation due to lack of food from the potato blight.
In present day, Maria is pregnant from her boyfriend Dan and she is trying to sort out how she feels about her being a mother since her own mother was distant and aloof.

The characterization draws you in. Very well written with a bittersweet ending .

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Read

Not knowing much about the potato famine caused me to do some research. It is so sad that it was preventable and still so many perished. It did change the U.S. by so many Irish fleeing to America. Maybe, we should understand what that means. We are the land that should welcome immigrants not fear them. This book is a wonderful story about family history.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touching story of the famine in Ireland.

Maria visits Ireland looking for a missing ancestor. She has so many questions about her Great Great Great Grandmother, but at the same time confused over life decisions herself. Is it possible that someone who died many many years ago can help her with her own life today?

[Nicolette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this audiobook. Having a British actor who could do a very good Irish accent really helped the story to come to life. It’s very nice to read a book where there is no love triangle or horrible twists that make you hate the characters. Very refreshing to have all loose ends tied up neatly at the end.

[Anne G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it, it was an easy read, which I needed after my last one. I really love books which have two time lines. It was a very emotional book for me, I shed a lot of tears, sometimes from happiness and mostly from sadness. I could not image living through the potato famine. I am looking forward to reading more books from this author

[Dorine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book and a fairly easy read. I love books about artists and Ireland, so this was an easy choice for me. The dual timeline kept me reading, wanting to know the outcome. A new-to-me author - I'll surely read more. This one contains an unconventional love story which was belivable.

[VJ McBee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised. I was afraid it my turn into a soppy romance but it didn’t. It gave you a sense of the time and guessing about the end.

[Yvonne Crossman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart rendering novel!

Having had ancestors that lived through the Irish Famine, I felt a deep compassion for suffering Kitty and her family endured. The way the author melds the present-day story with the past makes for a wonderful read.

[TRENA LAMORE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

This was a good easy read with a happy every after ending.
Sad facts about the Irish famine history, but a nice conclusion to this book.