Eleanor: Countess of Desmond

The life of Eleanor Butler FitzGerald, Countess of Desmond is testimony to the struggle of a courageous, spirited, enduring and gritty woman who refused to abandon hope in the face of an inexorable fate which sucked more powerful than she into its maw. And while it may appear that she failed ultimately in her goal to save her husband, her family, her home and her inheritance, her failure is heroic, her path towards it a triumph of the human spirit. One can only stand and applaud in amazement and admiration this forgotten heroine of the Tudor wars in Ireland.

While Eleanor may have lived 500 years ago, the personal trauma she experienced by the violent and systematic destruction of the fabric of her native society and way of life has reverberations and relevance today. Women in Bosnia, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and elsewhere, the mothers, wives, grandmothers, widows, sisters and daughters of the indigenous population, have lived and continue to live through political, military and social upheaval, their lives torn asunder by forces, both foreign and local, over which they have little or no control. And yet despite such insurmountable odds, in the midst of such a hostile environment, these unsung heroines continue to protect, nurture and provide for their families and keep hope alive.

And it is to these brave women this book is dedicated.