Maura Laverty
Encyclopedia
Maura Laverty was an author, journalist and broadcaster known for her work on Irish soap opera Tolka Row
. She published several novels, short stories and critical pieces throughout her career.
Born in Rathangan
, County Kildare
in Ireland, Laverty was educated at Brigidine Convent, Carlow, where she studied teacher-training. She later moved to Spain, taking up the position of governess and later secretary to Princess Bibesco and eventually becoming a foreign correspondent based within Madrid. Laverty returned to Ireland for the remainder of her career and worked as a journalist and broadcaster in Dublin. Her first novel Never No More was published in 1942 and based in Co. Kildare, drawing heavily on personal experiences during her time in Derrymore House. Laverty would follow this with such works as Touched by the Thorn (1943) and Alone We Embark (1943).
She is well known as the writer of RTÉ's Tolka Row
, the station's first soap opera that ran between 1964–68, itself largely an adaptation of her play Liffey Lane. Laverty also wrote numerous children's stories including The Cottage in the Bog (1946) and The Green Orchard (1949).
Tolka Row
Tolka Row was an Irish soap opera set in a fictional housing estate on the northside of Dublin. Based on Maura Laverty's 1951 play of the same name, the show was set around the trials and tribulations of the Nolan family...
. She published several novels, short stories and critical pieces throughout her career.
Born in Rathangan
Rathangan
Rathangan may refer to:*Rathangan, County Kildare*Rathangan, County Wexford...
, County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
in Ireland, Laverty was educated at Brigidine Convent, Carlow, where she studied teacher-training. She later moved to Spain, taking up the position of governess and later secretary to Princess Bibesco and eventually becoming a foreign correspondent based within Madrid. Laverty returned to Ireland for the remainder of her career and worked as a journalist and broadcaster in Dublin. Her first novel Never No More was published in 1942 and based in Co. Kildare, drawing heavily on personal experiences during her time in Derrymore House. Laverty would follow this with such works as Touched by the Thorn (1943) and Alone We Embark (1943).
She is well known as the writer of RTÉ's Tolka Row
Tolka Row
Tolka Row was an Irish soap opera set in a fictional housing estate on the northside of Dublin. Based on Maura Laverty's 1951 play of the same name, the show was set around the trials and tribulations of the Nolan family...
, the station's first soap opera that ran between 1964–68, itself largely an adaptation of her play Liffey Lane. Laverty also wrote numerous children's stories including The Cottage in the Bog (1946) and The Green Orchard (1949).
Novels
- Never No More (1942)
- Alone We Embark (1943), issued in America as Touched by the Thorn (1943)
- No More than Human (1944)
- Gold of Glanaree (1945)
- The Cottage in the Bog (1946)
- Lift Up Your Gates (1946)
- The Green Orchard (1949)
- The Queen of Aran’s Daughter (later published in 1995)
Miscellaneous
- Flour Economy (1941)
- Maura Laverty’s Cookbook (1946)
- Kind Cooking (1955);
- Full and Plenty (1960)
Critical Pieces
- Luke Gibbons, ‘From Kitchen Sink to Soap; Drama and the Serial Form on Irish Television’, in Transformations in Irish Culture (Cork UP 1996), pp. 44–69.
- Maura Laverty, ‘Profile’, RTV Guide, 13 May 1966, p.15; Gibbons, p.56.