After travelling back in time with Sean and Sorcha in The Irish Midwife, I was ready to return to the O’Brien family I had come to know. Dark Irish brought me home to them, but it also reminded me that even among people who love each other fiercely, there can be things left unsaid. This shorter story centres on Finn Murphy, Brigid O’Brien’s husband, and their daughter Cora. Autumn has arrived, bringing a storm, troubling visions for Cora and a secret Finn has kept from the people closest to him. When someone long absent returns, Finn must decide whether he is ready to share the truth. I loved spending more time with Finn and Brigid. Across the series, the O’Brien family has always felt wonderfully full of life, and it is lovely to step closer to a couple who have been part of that world all along. Finn’s devotion to Brigid and their children gives this story its heart. That is also why his secret matters so much. The people we love most are often the ones we are most afraid of hurting. There is a lovely autumn feeling to Dark Irish. I imagined the first chill in the air, leaves turning beneath a grey sky and everyone drawing a little closer as a storm approaches. It is the sort of setting that makes you want to light a fire and listen to an old family story. Cora adds another kind of mystery. Her visions suggest that something is coming, though the adults around her do not yet know what it means. I felt for her. Childhood can be confusing enough without seeing or sensing things you cannot explain. More than anything, I wanted her to know that she could turn to her family and be heard. Finn, meanwhile, has to face his own past. I won’t give away what he has been keeping to himself. Part of the pleasure of this novella is watching its secrets come into the light. What interested me most was the question beneath them: how do you tell someone a truth when you fear it might change the way they see you? I think most families have a story that takes time to be told. Sometimes it stays quiet because nobody knows how to begin. Sometimes a person believes they are protecting those they love. Then a child asks a question, an old face appears at the door, or a storm shakes loose everything that seemed safely tucked away. That is what Dark Irish made me think about. The O’Briens are close, but closeness does not mean they know every part of one another. There is always another story beneath the one you thought you knew. Although this is a novella, it gave me something I had been hoping for: a chance to linger with Finn, Brigid and Cora. It also brings a mysterious thread into the family’s world, and I enjoyed seeing how that sits alongside the love and loyalty I had followed through the earlier books. I finished Dark Irish with the feeling of having spent an autumn evening with the O’Briens. The weather has turned, someone has finally spoken of the past, and the family must decide what to do with the truth. Until next time, Toodle pip, Lainey.
