Nuala O’Faolain was born in Dublin in 1940, and died in 2008. Her career in Ireland and the UK spanned journalism, television production and presenting, but she is most widely remembered for her first memoir, Are You Somebody?
The book was explosive and unexpected, exposing hidden aspects of female life in Ireland and offering valuable insights into the private experiences of a well-known public figure. Published by New Island in 1996, and originally intended as a selection of Nuala’s newspaper columns with a personal introduction, it is easy to underestimate the impact that Are You Somebody? had – and continues to have. Nuala’s frank and revealing accounts of her life as an educated, independent career woman were shocking – and liberating – in the conservative, Catholic Ireland of the 1990s.
The book went on to enjoy huge success as a bestseller internationally, and continues to have an inspirational effect long after Nuala’s passing. This new installation, curated by author June Caldwell, served as both memorial and testimony to the importance of Nuala’s honesty and work. Moreover, it spoke to the ongoing need for writers to speak truth to silence, and to reveal ways of living that remain hidden or censored from public view
This exhibition consisted of a two-hour video (originally planned to be a more typical exhibition but changed due to the outbreak of Covid-19) to explore the life and impact of Nuala O’Faolain and her work on over twenty academics, writers, activists and family members, including O’Faolain’s sisters, Deirdre and Gráinne, as well as her editor, Anthony Glavin. Also among those featured are writers Anne Enright, Emilie Pine and Evelyn Conlon.
The film was shown in the Iveagh Room in MoLI, showing quotes from Nuala’s memoir, and featured an original score composed by MoLI’s Head of Exhibitions, Benedict Schlepper-Connolly, which was inspired by a Wagner score favoured by O’Faolain.
This installation was curated by June Caldwell, who wrote the preface to the 2018 edition of O’Faolain’s memoir, Are You Somebody?, and is a writer of fiction and a journalist in her own right.
