Posted by PAT on January 31, 2007 at 20:40:29:
In Reply to: Maeve Binchy posted by Francis Toboni on January 31, 2007 at 18:07:16:
: Maeve Binchy writes books mostly about southern Ireland,my wife really wants to visit some of the places in the books,i know this is a long shot but are there anywhere you can recommend,or are they all fictional,thank you.
Dear Francis,
All of the placenames that Maeve uses in her books are fictional (except Dublin!), but the smaller towns are based on real places, or, more accurately, a combination of places in the countryside that Maeve has observed over the years.
In the movie version of Circle of Friends, Inistioge, Co. Kilkenny, was used as the setting of "Benny's" hometown (the fictional "Knockglen"). Dublin, of course, is featured in many books, such as Tara Road, Quentins, Evening Class, Scarlet Feather, etc. Certainly if you planned a tour that starts in Dublin and heads down to Inistioge in Co. Kilkenny, that would be a good start to a tour.
Maeve herself lives in the Dublin suburb of Dalkey on the south side, so you can be sure that a walk in Dalkey would be appropriate, as much of her work must be based on experiences there. I am sure you know that Maeve has her own web site, www.maevebinchy.com
Other placenames -- such as "Castlebay" in Echoes; "Rathdoon" in the Lilac Bus; "Mountfern" in Firefly Summer; "Shancarrig" in the Copper Beech; "Lough Glass" in The Glass Lake; and "Rossmore" in Whitethorn Woods -- simply do not exist but could be almost any small town in the west or south of Ireland.
Like your wife, I, too, am a great fan of Maeve's and have had the pleasure to meet her many times in my travels. She does answer her mail, so your wife could always write to Maeve (via her web site) and ask her for the names of some of the places that inspired her to use as her book locales. She would probably be delighted to hear that her descriptions have made your wife want to visit those places.
Hope this helps.
PAT