STORY 18. "A WEEK IN SUMMER" BY MAEVE BINCHY

Maeve Binchy (1940-2012) was born in Dublin, worked as a school teacher, Irish Times columnist, and then as a novelist. Her books, which have been translated into over forty languages, have been adapted for stage, film and television. A feature film of her novel ‘Tara Road’ was released in 2005. She lived in Dalkey, Co Dublin, with her husband, the writer Gordon Snell. 

Maeve attended the Merriman Summer School since 1968. ‘A Week in Summer’ is a short story commissioned by the Merriman Summer School as part of the bi-centenary celebrations marking Brian Merriman’s life and work in 2005, 200 years after his death. Maeve Binchy’s short story, which she read aloud, is about an American couple who came to Lisdoonvarna looking for peace and hoping for a chance to rejuvenate their marriage. They are plunged into the world of the Midnight Court and, even more importantly, of the hundreds who attend the Merriman Summer School regularily.They find plenty to admire and entertain and eventually something to change their lives.