Sing, Wild Bird, Sing

Jacqueline O’Mahony was named Young Irish Writer of the Year by the Irish Examiner when she was fourteen. She took her BA in Ireland, her MA at the University of Bologna, and her PhD in history at Boston College and as a Fulbright Scholar at Duke University. She worked at Condé Nast as a stylist and editor for Vogue and at Associated Newspapers as an arts editor, and in 2015 she graduated from City University’s MA in creative writing with a first-class degree. Her debut novel, A River in the Trees, was nominated for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award and the Not the Booker Prize in 2020. Originally from Cork, Ireland, she lives in London with her husband and three young children.

“Jacqueline O’Mahony’s work is fiction, though she describes historical events with the unswerving eye of a journalist… [She] conveniently, yet thoughtfully, adds characters and spiritual elements as needed…. Sing, Wild Bird, Sing is a novel about the will to persevere in the face of unspeakable grief.” —Booklist“The story is breathtaking in its scope. Life in Doolough is horrifying, but Honora’s will to survive is magnificent…I would read more from Jacqueline O’Mahony any time.” —Historical Novels Review“Almost painful in its authenticity, this breathtaking and poignant novel is an immersion in the harsh realities of nineteenth-century Ireland and America. Jacqueline O’Mahony is a formidable writer, whose voice is fearless, evocative, and uplifting. Skillfully laced with imagery, Honora’s mesmerizing story of courage, survival, and striving to be free will stay in your heart long after you close the book. Brilliant and haunting.” —Elena Gorokhova, author of A Train to Moscow“I absolutely love Sing, Wild Bird, Sing. I can entirely relate to it. I’ve had lots of Irish people tell me how the Irish and Indigenous people of America have so much in common. And we really do, but unfortunately, I never heard their stories. Sing, Wild Bird, Sing links our worlds together so beautifully. Like Honora, I have always moved through what seems like a never-ending series of disappointments, existed between two worlds, and never stopped moving toward a more fitting world. This book really moved me. It’s been a privilege to read.” —Anthony Two Moons“Unforgettable. The wonderful Honora and the struggles of her people in Ireland and America will carve a special place in your heart.” —Daisy Wood, author of The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris“A work of page-turning intensity, O'Mahony's prose blazes with life and insight.” —Julie Myerson, author of Nonfiction: A Novel