JG Farrell in His Own Words Selected Letters and Diaries
08.02.2010
New information has come to light from an eyewitness account of the last few moments of J.G. Farrell life before he tragically drowned. This note below will be published in a softback edition of the book in the autumn published by Cork University Press (CUP).

He was seen fishing by a witness, Mrs Pauline Foley, with three children aged 5-11, and he turned to wave.. ‘As he turned back to cast his line a wave hit the ledge and he sliipped and fell into the water... His head appeared quite quickly, about 12-15 feet out.’ She shouted that she was coming, telling the children to stay still, but as she moved forward over the rocks they began to scream. “I went no further, I worried that they would come after me... He seemed so calm, no reaching out to me, no calling for help; he seemed to understand my predicament. He looked at me for a small while ... and then he just disappeared under the waves.” [email to editor, 12 January 2010. JGF’s responsible attitude towards children is plain in his letter on pp. 275/6. For more on his death, see J.G. Farrell, the Making of a Writer.]

1310MMcS

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