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Dr. Michael Ryan launches
In the Shadow of the Ombú Tree
in the Chester Beatty Library Dublin. |
Press Releases
7th September 2004
In the Shadow of the Ombú Tree
Hugh Fitzgerald Ryan to publish
latest novel
In the Shadow of the Ombú Tree
with Chaos Press.
…a story of young love in a new
country, far from the families they never said goodbye to...striving to build a
future for their children in a land torn apart by civil war, and haunted by
memories of the native Charrúa tribe…
In his latest book
In the Shadow of the Ombú Tree
(Chaos Press),
Hugh FitzGerald Ryan tells the
story of his great grandmother and the South American town that bears her name.
“The story of my great grandparents, John
and Catherine, and their dramatic elopement from their native Wexford to Uruguay
has been told in my family for four generations. Fascinating me since childhood,
I embarked on an imaginative reconstruction of their turbulent and passionate
life. The story, surviving in the oral tradition had taken on the patina of
legend, but research revealed that the legend was borne out by empirical facts.”
Hugh’s research led him and his wife, Margaret,
to visit Uruguay in 2001. They received an overwhelming welcome - from the local
people, the schools and the traditional Candombé musicians and dancers. Hugh
found the family home of John and Catherine, the Estancia Santa Catalina,
existing as described in family legend. Moreover, the village which grew up in
that area, Santa Catalina, was named after Catherine.
In the Shadow of the Ombú Tree
tells vividly of Catherine and John’s
infatuation, which led them to flee Wexford for a new and adventurous life in
Uruguay. Hugh’s rich and colourful language engages the reader in the young
couple’s captivating life, amidst the violent political unrest of the era, the
beauty and harshness of the country.
Read the first few chapters of
In the Shadow of the Ombú Tree
here.
Ombú Tree sample.pdf
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