Compiled by Jane Russell

SELECTION OF QUOTES:

‘I have a great fancy to see my own funeral before I die.’ Maria Edgeworth
‘Love matches are made by people who are content, for a month of honey, to condemn themselves to a life of vinegar.’ Countess of Blessington.
‘I feel more and more the time wasted that is not spent in Ireland.’ Lady Gregory
‘The English may batter us to pieces, but they will never succeed in breaking our spirit.’ Maud Gonne
‘If you look at life one way, there is always cause for alarm.’ Elizabeth Bowen
‘God has the most wicked sense of humour.’ Maureen O’Hara
‘My mother always said that if the Protestants catch a Catholic in their church they feed them to the Jews.’ Kate O’Brien
‘I think being a woman is a bit like being Irish. Everyone says you’re important and nice, but you take second best all the same.’ Iris Murdoch
‘It has been said that time heals all wounds. I don’t agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue, and the pain lessens, but is never gone.’ Rose Kennedy
‘I was elected by the women of Ireland, who instead of rocking the cradle, rocked the system.’ Mary Robinson
‘I had a very happy childhood, which is unsuitable if you are going to be an Irish writer.’ Maeve Binchy
‘I don’t want any man to have control over me.’ Sinead O’Connor
‘To be honest I live among the English and have always found them honest in their business dealings. They are noble, hard-working and anxious to do the right thing. But joy eludes them, they lack the joy that the Irish have.’ Fiona Shaw

The Irish Women’s Quotation Book is a new collection of quotations by Irish women going back to the eighteenth century. It will include quotations by writers, artists, musicians, actors and politicians.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY:
Jane Russell was born in London, but brought up in Scotland and Ireland, where she now lives. She works in publishing and is the author of three non-fiction titles, including the best-selling Irish Farmhouse Cheese Recipes.