Reviews
“Prepare to be transported through 1920s-40s Chicago and Ireland for an epic story of love, loss and the strength of one incredible Irish woman.”
—Martha Hall Kelly, author of New York Times bestseller Lilac Girls
“Mary Pat Kelly’s masterful saga of Irish American life and history comes to a thrilling conclusion with Irish Above All as the Kellys and the Kennedys achieve political power with very different consequences. A great read.”
—Patricia Harty, cofounder and editor-in-chief of Irish America Magazine
“Irish Above All combines the myths and magic of Ireland with the grit and energy of Irish-American Chicago in the first half of the 20th century. I am delighted that main character Nora Kelly travels with Eleanor Roosevelt to visit the US Marines stationed in my beloved Derry during WWII—a little known story—and that Nora has a spiritual awakening in the Grianan of Aileach, a sacred space for me since childhood.”
—Roma Downey, New York Times bestselling author of Box of Butterflies, acclaimed actress, producer and president of LightWorkers Media at MGM Television
“Ahead of her times, Nora Kelly is a fascinating woman of vision and an inspiration to today’s generation of women photographers.”
—Barbara Kasten, internationally recognized artist known for her abstract photography
“Nobody knows the Irish like Mary Pat Kelly. And nobody writing today knows better how to breath life into Irish-Americans, with all their dreams, hopes, and aspirations. Fictional characters and historical figures emerge full blown and fiery in this big, sprawling, read-it-all-weekend kind of epic. You’ll love it.”
—William Martin, New York Times bestselling author of Bound for Gold
“Mary Pat Kelly vividly captures the tumult of Chicago machine politics, with its hard-fought ethnic and racial struggles. A tale told by a feisty spirited woman, Irish Above All takes us from the Jazz Age through World War II. It is history with a timely contemporary message. For as one Irishman puts it: ‘All of us are descended from someone who got out against the odds.’”
—Margo Jefferson, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Negroland
