Best-Selling Irish Epic GALWAY BAY Available in Paperback Feb 28, 2011

Feb. 14, 2011 - PRLog -- In the spellbinding tradition of Frank Delaney and Colleen McCullough comes a bestselling historical family saga that Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt called “pure magic.” GALWAY BAY (Grand Central Publishing Trade Paperback; February 28, 2011; $15.99) is the poignant and captivating story of one family’s journey from the horrors of 19th century Ireland’s Great Starvation to triumph in America.

Galway 1839 - Young Honora Keeley and Michael Kelly meet and fall in love. Sustained by faith, family and their ancient culture, they wed and start a family.  But an oppressive system forces them and their countrymen to sell their crops to pay exorbitant rents until they must rely on potatoes as their only staple food. When the blight destroys the potato crop three times in four years, a callous government and uncaring landlords turn a natural disaster into the Great Starvation that will kill one million.

Determined to live, the Kelly’s join two million Irish refugees – victims saving themselves – in the emigration from Ireland that changes the U.S. forever.  Based on the author’s own Irish family history, GALWAY BAY is a universal story of survival that will inspire us to find strength and courage when circumstances demand it.

GALWAY BAY is currently being developed for television by Jean Doumanian Productions, which has produced over twenty films by directors such as David Mamet, Woody Allen, and Barbara Kopple, earning multiple Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.  "I am thrilled to be bringing Galway Bay to the screen," says Doumanian. "Not only is this a rousingly epic love story in the history of our country, it is also an unforgettable testament to the great influence that Irish Americans have forged on our nation."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mary Pat Kelly is the author of six books including Special Intentions, based on her experiences as a nun, and Martin Scorsese: A Journey. She was a producer at Saturday Night Live and Good Morning America, a screen writer for Columbia and Paramount Pictures, and the director of several PBS documentaries. A graduate of Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods College, Mary Pat received her PhD from the City University of New York, and was twice named one of the top 100 Irish Americans by Irish America Magazine. She resides with her husband in Manhattan. Please visit http://www.marypatkelly.com for more information.

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