Creative Writing

Creative Writing Ann Ingle, Warrior Woman Eileen Casey meets an ‘open hearted’ author

Wedding day for Ann and husband Peter. She was widowed at only 41 with eight children when Peter tragically took his own life.

Having just finished reading open hearted (lower case title on the author’s insistence), I feel a renewed sense of trust in humanity.

Seriously. Ann Ingle is a woman of tremendous empathy and warmth. Non-judgemental towards people in whatever circumstance they find themselves in; she’s faced her own trials and tribulations with courage. While there’s been a fair amount of happiness in her life, there’s also been plenty of heartache. The first time I met Ann in the Irish Writers Centre, her blue eyes seemed to gaze deeper than the casual glance usually offered to a relative stranger (which I was then). At that time I was facilitating a memoir workshop for Age & Opportunity and Ann became a member of that lovely vibrant group. Quiet, self-contained, always interested, it wasn’t altogether surprising when ‘open hearted’, her highly regarded memoir, appeared. Evidence that its worthy of such validation lies in its being shortlisted for an Irish Book Award, 2021 (in two categories; memoir and autobiography).Having read this beautiful hardback edition (un-put-down-able as rave reviews continue to attest), I am filled anew with admiration for this petite, self-contained warrior woman. First and foremost, ‘open hearted’ adheres to the first principle of all good writing; it comes coated in searing honesty; with the beauty of truth, warts n’ all. In any case she’s never felt the need to hold back; ‘the truth is I would not have been able to tell it any other way. Why should I? At my age I have nothing to lose!’ open hearted among other things, tells a love story that starts out in a familiar way; girl meets boy, fall in love, marry, eight children follow, they live happily ever after unfortunately, it’s not that kind of love story and while this couple were happy, there was sadness too. Although the love between Ann and her husband Peter was (still is) the stuff of fairytale, the ending isn’t quite so predictable. There’s an old adage about there being a book in everyone and yes, there probably is. Some of us are born storytellers too, able to embellish, tell a good yarn. Putting it down on paper is a different matter. Ann Ingle, not only has the ability to structure narrative, characterise individuals, vivify settings using her sensory perceptions in a finely tuned way, but she also has a really gripping life story to recount. A tale of two cities, a romantic odyssey that knew highs and lows. She was widowed young (41) with eight children when Peter tragically took his own life (a heartache written about with tremendous power, dignity and love), Between the pages of her memoir, Ann does a sterling job of recounting her life’s journey, one that began with her birth in

Ann Ingle on ‘open hearted’: ‘the truth is I would not have been able to tell it any other way. Why should I? At my age I have nothing to lose!’

London (she still carries that city in her voice). By age 21 she had met her dashing, debonair Dublin born husband Peter Ingle in Newquay, Cornwall. Ann describes her then boyfriend soon to be husband as a ‘gorgeous boy’ and a ‘reincarnation of the Greek god Adonis’.

Fast track onwards. By the time Ann reached the grand age of 30, she had six of her eight children. Today, many years later, she has 18 grandchildren but back then, when Peter died so tragically, she was only 41. She grieved of course, she loved him “like the greatest love story ever told,” but she ‘did not carry his shadow around.’ She was able to move on from mourning. In short, she had to. ‘There was a show to be kept on the road. And I was the one who had to do it.’ A valuable lesson for sure. She sees him in her children, ‘in the way my son Peter walks, the curl in Sarah’s hair or when Róisin sings.’ This very wise lady knows that while her husband was the love of her life ‘he is not a ghost’ in her life. Reading ‘open hearted’, there is absolutely no doubting the love they bore for each other through a life that was often tempestuous and which sometimes brought them into troubled waters due to Peter’s illness. His mental health proved fragile. ‘In the last years, he suffered, and we endured that suffering together. I survived, moved through it and past it, but Peter did not.’ Ann Ingle did what she always does in crisis; seek a solution to ensure the happiness and safety of her family. And keeping her bright mind busy. She’s gone down the mature student route as well as keeping the home fires burning, literally. Indeed, while ‘open hearted’ has at its core a powerful love story, there are so many intriguing facets to Ann’s life which make for reading pleasures on lots of levels. It’s her stoicism in the face of obstacles that this reader finds uplifting. A lesson ‘open hearted’ advocates is: don’t sit and mope, find a solution. Ann is definitely a woman of action.

How is she’s getting on at the moment? Lionised by celebrities such as Ray D’arcy (he makes no secret of his admiration for her writing), what is ‘ordinary’ day to day life like for her? At the ripe young age of 83, while her mind is crystal clear and sharp as a nail, her body alas, is not so agile; ‘Coming to terms with my arthritic knee is difficult,’ she admits. Plus using the walking stick.’ No doubt, this stylish lady uses it as a statement piece as well as a walking aid (after all, great men like Michael Collins and George Bernard Shaw could ‘work’ a walking stick). She agrees with my conjecture, ‘I love my stick and brandish it proudly.’ Despite the aches and pains of an ageing body, she’I do some very rudimentary exercise to make sure my body is still functioning.’ And what of the mind? ‘I do two crosswords each day (finally getting the better of the cryptic model during lockdown), try to go for a walk if it isn’t raining and listen to an audio book.’ I admire and agree with her reading choices, having also read Oh William by Elizabeth Strout, which Ann highly recommends. She is about to start Still Life by Sarah Winman. I make a mental note of this title trusting her taste in literature. Recently, she read a book titled Iron Annie having the privilege of meeting the author Luke Cassidy, at Smock Alley where they were both being interviewed during Dublin Book Festival. The fact that Cassidy made his book into a cabaret, ‘intrigued her’. Ann also loves to watch plays and drama on television and keeps track of what’s on Netflix. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are among her favourites.

With so many mouths to feed, she’s always worked whenever possible, using her skills to gain employment. One of the sections of Ann’s book which fascinates me concerns her typing abilities when younger, when her children were small and she was able to earn a living by typing manuscripts (100 wpm) for well-known writers. Among her clients at that time was Mary Lavin whose ‘handwriting was difficult to read but I managed. It helped that she (Mary Lavin) would read out loud from her manuscript before handing it to me’. Another memory is tinged with humour. Lord Killanin dictated his book on tape (Ann used a Dictaphone also) and one time he said Baden Baden. ‘I wasn’t sure if he meant to say it twice. I checked with a well travelled old military man who lived up the road and he assured me that Baden-Baden was a spa town in Germany.’ Ann has the ability to laugh at herself. ‘open hearted’ begins with descriptions of various falls Ann has endured (one time falling up the stairs). She looks to Beckett’s famous quote, re-arranging it with her wit, promising next time ‘to fall better’. However, she admits that “the more you fall, the harder it is to get up.”

Always a brilliant touch typist; she progressed from manual to electric and has always kept up to date with technology; ‘I am one of the lucky ones because I had to earn my living by typing and I do admire older people when they make the effort to come to terms with smart phones and computers but equally I sympathise with their reluctance to do so.’ Unfortunately, Ann has AMD (age related macular degeneration). As is her way, she has no problem reaching out for help and finds ‘the kind people in the National Council for the Blind very helpful.’

To backtrack a moment. Ann mentioned earlier her journalist daughter Róisin’s ability to sing. No prizes for guessing where that gift might have come from. Peter Ingle’s singing repertoire always amazed and mesmerised his wife. ‘Songs from Frank Sinatra to Elvis, from Bill Haley to Mario Lanza. He sang folk songs too, about strange people and rebellion.’ At times, in the early days, this repertoire proved confusing for Londoner Ann. For example, who was Biddy Mulligan and where was the Coombe? ‘I longed to know. Those songs about Spanish ladies and black velvet bands were new to me.’ He’with passion.’ So deep those songs struck a chord that Ann found herself apologising on behalf of her fellow countrymen. In essence, Ann and Peter Ingle were different people yet they were drawn to each other in such magnetic ways that it was possible to overcome cultural differences.

Today, Ann lives in Phibsboro with her daughter Katie, son in law Killian and three grandchildren. All of Katie’s children were born at home, it has been Ann’s ‘privilege and joy to be close at hand after each birth’. For Ann, intergenerational living works really well. Her family are happy in the knowledge that their mother is being well cared for and that Ann has her own personal space within the household. There’s a section in ‘open hearted’ where she describes her bedroom, the room which houses all of her possessions. She is definitely not a hoarder. When she sold the family home in Sandymount she couldn’t take everything with her. She has ‘dispensed’ with many of her belongings. ‘When I go, my family will be

Ann Ingle at a recent signing for ‘open hearted’

spared the ordeal of disposing of an accumulation of useless objects.’ Another lesson learnt.

A bonus element of ‘open hearted’ is how 60s Dublin is captured and portrayed. Places like the iconic McDowell’s The Happy Ring House features (a landmark since 1952) and Nelson’s Pillar (now no more). As a writer, Ann is at her best in the mornings. ‘I sit at my desk, facing my huge television screen which is attached to my laptop. I use the Tahoma font in 18 because that makes it easy for me to read. I also use the voice facility on my computer.’ This enables Ann to press the read aloud button when she finishes a piece of work and she can then hear back what she’s written. Her desk is beside a window looking out on to the street. She has a window box she enjoys cultivating flowers in. ‘If I am stuck for inspiration, I make a cup of coffee and look out of the window and contemplate. It usually works.’

Had life been different, Ann says she would have loved to have been an actress. She did have the opportunity to read ‘open hearted’ for ‘Audible’ (audio books) which ‘to some extent fulfilled the dream’. What are her thoughts on Covid? How has she coped? ‘I thought it would be gone by now. I have stopped worrying about it, there’s no point. If another lockdown comes along I’ll just have to write another book!’ Which is what she did from January to April 2021. Together with reading Anthony Trollope, beginning with The Way We Live Now’ It should be noted however, that open hearted isn’t Ann’s first foray into print. Some years ago, she was the ghost writer of a book, Driven for the famous Irish rally and racing driver, Rosemary Smith. This success enabled her to have an agent. When an astute editor in Penguin Ireland first saw Ann’s memoir manuscript (it then had the working title Ann’s search for meaning) she realised the gold it was. The rest is history.

With Christmas coming, I ask her if it’s a particularly poignant time or does she enter into the spirit and take it as it comes? ‘The first Christmas after Peter died, I went to mass in the morning to the Star of the Sea Church in Sandymount and left in tears.’ It’s not hard to imagine how she felt back then in 1980. But she had the happiness of her eight children to think of. ‘So I dried my eyes and got on with it.’ What she likes about Christmas nowadays is thinking of the things to buy or make for her children and grandchildren, all 18 of them. ‘That gives me great pleasure. If I have knitted gloves or hats ‘It would be hard to believe that anything Ann Ingle turns her hand to would not be of the highest standard. Senior Times wish her continued success in life and writing. open hearted is published by Penguin Ireland and is available in all good book shops.

Eileen Casey’s sixth poetry collection Bog Treasure (a collaboration with Canadian artist Jeanne Cannizzo) is available from Arlen House (arlenhouse@gmail.com),

Alan Hannas Bookshop and Amazon.

Bog Treasure is a collection of poems which formed part of The Strange Case of the Irish Elk, in collaboration between Irish poet Eileen Casey and Canadian artist/academic/curator/anthropologist Jeanne Cannizzo. Bog Treasure focuses on climate change, bog discoveries and how the prairie like vastness of our bogs provide a canvas for creative imagination. The cover image is by acclaimed photographer Tina Claffey. Bog Treasure is supported by a Project Development Award from The Arts Council of Ireland.

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