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Molly Hennigan's work has been published in The Stinging Fly, Banshee, Tolka and The Pig’s Back. The Celestial Realm, her first collection of essays, traces the path of her grandmother’s experience with mental health to her great-grandmother’s time in Irish mental hospitals. Molly explores her relationship with her grandmother, as well as her own family trauma and Irish social history, excavating the links that tie women together across generations. She probes the question, what does it mean to be an unconventional woman in a society that values conformity? The Celestial Realm is shortlisted for the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year.
Congratulations on making the shortlist for the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year! How does it feel to have this recognition?
Thank you! It really feels incredible to have this recognition for my first book. Every year I follow along with the shortlists and awards so it feels quite surreal to see my book here.
When did you begin your writing journey? And what has it been like?
I had an interest in writing from a very young age, I can’t even remember the ‘beginning’ of that fascination. I suppose I began my writing journey as a child. You could say I started taking it seriously a lot later, but realistically, when I think back to my childhood self at the time, she took it very seriously too. I remember my Mam used to regularly take me to a local nursery gardens, and I remember writing my first little story about a flower I found there, and naming it. The idea of putting a title on something was so exciting to me!
It has been a strange and rewarding path so far. There is so much rejection which is something you learn to manage and not be deterred by. There is also so much support and community. You can’t be too influenced by either, better just to focus on the work.
Tell us a bit about your book?
The Celestial Realm is a book of essays that charts both the national history of psychiatric incarceration in Ireland, with a focus on Grangegorman, and my own family history. I had a very close relationship with my grandmother. She was involuntarily incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital for the majority of her adult life. My great-grandmother, her mother, lived and died in Grangegorman. The book is largely an exercise in curiosity and listening, just wondering about that history and its impact.
What were your aims and ideas when it came to this book? And what do you hope readers take away from it?
My hope in writing this book was that I could share the love I have for my grandmother, to bring her to life on the page if at all possible, and with that, hopefully open readers’ eyes and hearts to the stark numbers we read in history books relating to incarceration which are sometimes difficult to get a feel for. I also hope it will encourage some readers to share their own similar experiences if it applies.
Ireland is a literary powerhouse - do you think it’s supportive of its new writers?
Ireland is exceptionally supportive of its new writers. We are lucky in Ireland not only to have great writers, but to have a great community that champions literature and fosters it. Being an aspiring writer in Ireland isn’t too daunting because there are always launches, events and readings to attend and friendships to be made in those spaces. I have friends writing and studying in MFA programs in the US and it reminds me how lucky we are with scale as well. Ireland is small and it is not difficult, within reason, to attend a talk or even workshop with some of your favourite writers. People are very open and encouraging and often take you and your work seriously before you do!
I think people pay it forward too. When someone calls you a writer before you’ve called yourself one, or encourages you in any way, you don’t forget that, and so you see writers who then find ‘success’ always offering that same support back to newer, aspiring writers. Considering the gritty themes of some contemporary Irish writing, the community itself is surprisingly wholesome!
What’s next for you?
I’m definitely interested in speaking with more people about their family histories and stories that are intertwined with the institution. I’m loosely planning something in relation to that. Other than that, I’m in the throes of trying to write my first novel which is humbling to say the least.
Who are your favourite Irish writers?
Some of my favourite Irish writers are Arnold Thomas Fanning, Sebastian Barry, Niamh Campbell, Colin Barrett, Maeve Brennan, John McGahern, Flann O’Brien, Claire Keegan, Iris Murdoch. I’m also a big fan of Dean Fee’s writing whose debut collection is in the works!
What An Post Irish Book Awards shortlisted book is next on your to-be-read pile?
I’ve heard wonderful things about Dr. Katriona O’Sullivan’s Poor which is next on my to-be-read pile.
Explore the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year Shortlist here.