Gráinne Hurley’s debut book, Gratefully and Affectionately: Mary Lavin and The New Yorker, is the first ever book to explore Lavin’s relationship with the influential publication. Based on Mary Lavin’s extensive correspondence with the magazine, Hurley’s book also reveals Lavin’s friendships with prominent literary figures including J. D. Salinger, Elizabeth Bowen, Eudora Welty, Frank O’Connor, William Maxwell and John McGahern.
For this very special evening Mary Lavin’s two granddaughters Kathleen MacMahon and Alice Ryan both highly respected writers in their own right, sit down with the author to chat about their grandmother and this fascinating time in her life . Renowned journalist and critic Alex Clark will lend her brilliantly incisive skills to lead this incredibly interesting conversation. The icing on the cake for this evening is a performance from Ireland’s most renowned rock fiddler, Steve Wickham. Steve has a long standing relationship with Mary Lavin’s work having composed a song and a fiddle piece in response to two of her short stories.
Gráinne Hurley holds a PhD in Contemporary Irish Literature from University College Dublin and is a former English Literature lecturer and drama teacher. Her research breaks new ground in the study of Mary Lavin and The New Yorker magazine and has been cited in various publications including Seamus Deane’s Small World (2021) and The Oxford Book of Irish Fiction (2020). Gráinne’s essay, ‘To Cut A Long Story Short: The Shaping of Mary Lavin’s New Yorker Stories’, was published in Genesis and Revision in Modern British and Irish Writers (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). She has presented papers on her findings at international conferences and seminars. In the Spring of 2023, Gráinne was appointed the writer-in-residence at the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco.
Kathleen MacMahon is the author of four novels and numerous short stories. Her work has been listed for the Irish Book Awards, the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year and the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Her fifth novel, Other People’s Lives, will be published in May 2026 by Penguin Sandycove.
Alice Ryan's first novel 'There's Been a Little Incident' was published by UK publishers Head of Zeus in 2022 and won 'Best Newcomer' at The Irish Book Awards. Her short stories have been shortlisted for the 2024 Anthology prize and the 2025 Bridport prize. She lives in Dublin with her husband Brian and their two children.
Alex Clark is a critic, journalist and broadcaster. A co-host of the Times Literary Supplement podcast and Graham Norton’s Book Club, she is also a regular on RTE and BBC Radio 4 and writes on a wide range of subjects for the Guardian, the Observer and the Irish Times. She is a patron of the Cambridge Literary Festival, and has judged many literary awards, including the Booker prize. She is an experienced chair of live events, and lives in Kilkenny, Ireland.
Steve Wickham is recognised as Ireland’s premier rock fiddler. His distinctive playing has been a major contribution to the Waterboys groundbreaking records over the years. Steve became a member of The Waterboys in 1985 shortly after playing on their seminal album “This is The Sea”. Wickham continues to tour and record with Mike Scott and The Waterboys. Steve has recorded and performed with U2, Elvis Costello, Sinead O’Connor, Bob Dylan, Sharon Shannon and many other artists in the worlds of rock and traditional folk music. Wickham made his recording debut with U2 on their breakthrough album, War, playing on “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “Drowning Man” in 1982.
An electric violinist, songwriter and composer, Wickham is an award winning Irish artist.
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