Fran O’Brien sips coffee at Jenny’s Kitchen in Nenagh while holding her book ‘Stripy the Kitten’ - printed by the Nenagh Guardian - with Jenny Moloney. Fran’s books are available at Jenny’s, along with Christmas cards in aid of the LauraLynn Foundation. PHOTO: BRIDGET DELANEY

Tipp author's first foray into children’s fiction

Toomevara-based author Fran O'Brien has another book out and available locally to raise funds for the LauraLynn Foundation.

Though she grew up in Dublin, Fran and her husband Arthur McGuinness have become very much part of the community fabric in Toomevara, where they now spend most of their time.

Since 2005 she has been writing mostly novels and selling them at shows, trade fairs and markets around Ireland, donating all of the proceeds to the LauraLynn children's hospice.

‘Stripy the Kitten’ sees Fran making her first foray into children's fiction. A short story about a three-legged kitten, Stripy is abandoned by her owners and goes to a farm where she meets a friendly cat, and another cat who is not so friendly.

There's also Granno, the woman who feeds them, and an adventure ensues in which Stripy manages to win over the unfriendly cat.

“It's a simple little thing for four or five-year-olds,” said Fran, whose new book is printed with easy-to-read block capital letters and lots of drawings, also penned by the author. “The kids can colour them in, filling the drawings with their own crayons, so it has a dual purpose - read the story and colour in the drawings as well.”

‘Stripy the Kitten’ was on sale at the recent Ideal Home Show at the RDS, where Fran managed to raise over €5,000 for her chosen charity. She and her husband were a regular fixture at the likes of Bloom, the National Ploughing Championships and other major events that have sadly been interrupted by the pandemic, impacting on Fran's opportunities to raise money for the cause close to her heart.

‘I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING’

LauraLynn became that cause in 2005 when she and Arthur became aware of Jane and Brendan McKenna's two daughters - Laura, who died at the age of just 4 following surgery to repair a heart defect; and her older sister Lynn, who died aged 15, less than two years later, having lost her battle against Leukaemia; she was diagnosed on the day of Laura’s surgery.

“How I started was when I heard Jane McKenna, who is the mum of Laura and Lynn, speak on the radio. I thought it was just so moving; I said: ‘I have to do something’.

“That was the reason for publishing the first book. Knowing Jane and Brendan changed our lives because we went completely into this.”

Fran has since written 14 books in total, all of them geared towards supporting the LauraLynn services, which include community-based paediatric palliative care, respite and end-of-life support.

Two of those books are about Fran's family, including her aunt Queenie, a Cork woman who came to Toomevara and married Ned Hogan in the mid ‘40s. She lived there until 2000 when she died at the age of 90.

“She was a fantastic storyteller with a great memory and she used to tell me all the old stories of the family,” Fran said of her aunt, who left her cottage in Toomevara to the author and her husband.

“We just love living in Toomevara. It's really nice, and we've lovely friends and neighbours. We're very lucky.”

BOOK ON SALE NOW

Fran is presently writing a new fiction book, while she also works in theatre at the Source Arts Centre in Thurles. Her ‘Stripy the Kitten’ book is now available at Jenny's Kitchen in Nenagh, to whom the author is very grateful, with all proceeds going the way of the LauraLynn Foundation. The book can also be purchased through Fran's website - www.franobrien.net - where plenty of further information is available.