Up in the Park: The Diary of the Wife of the American Ambassador to Ireland 1977-1981

This delightful and discerning journal takes us from that first joyful moment when Elizabeth Shannon learned her husband had been appointed ambassador to Ireland, through official preparations and initial adjustments, to a new understanding and appreciation of that beautiful, troubled, brave, and sometimes infuriating country. Mrs. Shannon writes with keen insight and irrepressible humor about everything from the unexpected disaster at a diplomatic dinner to Ireland's fledgling women's movement and the state of Irish education. She depicts with equal verve her hilarious attempts to select (and capture) a pig for the burgeoning ambassadorial barnyard, and the unforgettable morning when Pope John Paul II celebrated a Mass for millions of Irish in the Phoenix Park. Fondly, she describes her encounters with all kinds of people, from a group of itinerant girls from Gal way to Ireland's best known artists and highest government officials. And she takes us on a firsthand, guided tour through the beautiful Irish coast and countryside. Elizabeth Shannon grew up in small towns in Illinois and later in Texas. After college, she moved to Washington, D.C., and worked as a reporter trainee for the Washington Star. There she met and married William Shannon, then a columnist for another newspaper. Although they spent three years in New York and one in London, the Shannons called Washington home until Mr. Shannon's appointment to the ambassadorship by President Carter. They now live in Boston, where Mr. Shannon teaches at Boston University and Mrs. Shannon is working on a novel.