An Irish
Dream
Feast and Famine
Set in rural County Roscommon in 1844, An Irish Dream: Feast and Famine follows the Kelly family as they labor, pray, and endure in a world governed by land, faith, and forces beyond their control.
Told through the reflective voice of Mickel Padraig Kelly, the novel offers a grounded portrait of pre-Famine Ireland, where survival depends on discipline, family loyalty, and quiet resilience. As British land policies tighten and social tensions rise, the Kellys must navigate injustice, fear, and moral reckoning without the protection of power or privilege.
about the author
frank kelly
When he asked his father about family roots, Frank Kelly was told to let sleeping dogs lie, since his heritage was littered with horse thieves and bastards. But, as the years went by, the family’s roots became more and more intriguing. Finally, this retired advertising creative director researched the story of the immigrant who is the basis for this historical novel. Kelly and his wife Diane are the parents of six adult (and very funny) daughters. They’re active church members and community volunteers who enjoy their grandchildren and cross-country trips in their 1923 Model T Ford touring car.
“Kelly’s Ireland feels inhabited, not reconstructed. The labor, faith, and fear are rendered with uncommon honesty.”
— Senior Historical Fiction Editor
about the book
An Irish Dream
Set in rural County Roscommon in 1844, An Irish Dream: Feast and Famine follows the Kelly family as they labor, pray, and endure in a world governed by land, faith, and forces beyond their control.
Told through the reflective voice of Mickel Padraig Kelly, the novel offers a grounded portrait of pre-Famine Ireland, where survival depends on discipline, family loyalty, and quiet resilience. As British land policies tighten and social tensions rise, the Kellys must navigate injustice, fear, and moral reckoning without the protection of power or privilege.
When violence intrudes and authority fails, endurance itself becomes an act of resistance.
The famine has not yet arrived, but its shadow is already cast.
Measured, authentic, and deeply human, Feast and Famine is the opening volume of a trilogy that honors history without sentimentality and gives dignity to lives shaped by hardship and resolve.