Maeve Binchy was and always will be one of the darlings of Irish fiction – and the Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, columnist and speaker is best known for her gentle and often humorous portrayal of life in a small Irish town. Descriptive characters, observations of human nature and often clever endings made her stories compelling and heart-warming.
Martina Sheedy remembers the many visits Maeve Binchy made to Sheedy’s Country House – to relax and replenish while enjoying some peaceful writing time. “We loved having Ms Binchy to stay – she was so friendly and appreciative of everything and was a very grounded lady. She would sit in her room and write. It is so special for us that she stayed with us while working on her last book – and she told us to be sure to get hold of a copy when it came out as we would find some familiar things in it.” Ms Binchy was true to her word: ‘A Week in Winter’ tells the story of a hotel set high on the cliffs on the west coast of Ireland; a converted house previously owned by the fictional Sheedy sisters.
