Tea and Green Ribbons: A Memoir

In the slums of Dublin in 1953, Evelyn Doyle's mother ran off with a lover, abandoning her family and leaving Evelyn's father to care for six children. Already struggling to support his children as a painter and decorator, Desmond Doyle faced the fact that he would have to turn them over to church-run industrial schools while he went to England, where he could earn higher wages and save money to support them without state assistance. He believed the placement was temporary. However, upon his return to Dublin several months later, he discovered that the Irish state had assumed custody of the children and refused to release them. "Tea and Green Ribbons" is the astonishing, heart-wrenching tale of Desmond's dramatic quest to get his children back, told in gripping fashion by his daughter, Evelyn. In the ensuing years after losing his children, Desmond devoted himself to working with some of Ireland's foremost legal experts to fight both the Church and the government. Meanwhile Evelyn, his eldest child, discovered the crisp, clean joys and lonely sorrows of life in the care of nuns. After two years the Irish Supreme Court finally made an unprecedented decision -- which, for the first time in Irish legal history, took into account the children's wishes -- and Desmond, his daughter, and his sons began their lives again. Evelyn Doyle has crafted a jewel-like chronicle of a major turning point in Irish mores and culture. Uplifting, gritty, and emotionally compelling, this stunning memoir is an unforgettable celebration of the Irish spirit.