The Bridge to Always

'The warmth of her storytelling evokes Maeve Binchy' - Fíona Scarlett

Lynda Marron

• Publisher: Eriu
• Year: 2025
• Topic: Literature
• eBook ISBN:
  9781804441947
• Subtopic: Literature General
• Index: Literature

'I stayed up far too late reading this, I couldn't put it down . . . I didn't want it to end' - Vogue Williams

'I loved The Bridge To Always. Marron has created a vibrant world, peopled with appealing characters caught, as we all are, in the net of their circumstances but struggling to be free. At the book's heart is a love story, but not the one I was expecting; something richer, sweeter and entirely compelling' - Emily Hourican, author of The Glorious Guinness Girls

A story about identity and place, about finding out who you are, who your people are, and what it means to be a family.

Maeve Gaffney arrives in a small West Cork town in pursuit of a dream: to be reunited with Tim, the lad she fell for years ago and who, unbeknownst to him, fathered her daughter, Emer.
For Tim, now married and a pillar of the community, Emer's existence is a shock - but the chance to rekindle an old flame with her mother is tempting.
For Agnes, a lonely landowner, Maeve and Emer's arrival is an opportunity to make money - and maybe new friends.
For Malachi, a man of few words but deep emotions, it's . . . complicated.
For Emer, it's about growing up and finding her voice.

For all five, the arrival of this beautiful, wild mother and her silent, observant daughter sparks a devastating chain of events none of them could have predicted.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Contents
• 1. May Day in Dublin, Ten Years Ago
• 2. Summer in Dublin, Now
• 3. Am agus Foighne a Thógann Seilide go Corcaigh: It’s Time and Patience That Gets a Snail to Cork
• 4. An Bó Riach: The Brindled Cow
• 5. Corcoran’s Drapery
• 6. The Drohid Arms
• 7. The Convent School
• 8. Weavers’ Row
• 9. Back Then, in Dublin
• 10. Nothing but a Light Breeze Forecast
• 11. The Lair
• 12. Home
• 13. Cavendish Place
• 14. It Gets Deep in the Middle
• 15. A Giant Appears
• 16. The Pear Frangipane Tart
• 17. Blackberry Crumble
• 18. In Full Swing
• 19. Back Then, in Dublin
• 20. Watching for Clues
• 21. This Famous Novel
• 22. Lantern Slides
• 23. Back Then, in Dublin
• 24. A Stroke of Genius
• 25. The Shakey Bridge
• 26. Back Then, in Dublin
• 27. Chocolate Digestives
• 28. Stir-Fry
• 29. An Invitation
• 30. Thin Ice
• 31. My Husband the Novelist
• 32. The Eighth of December
• 33. Just a Regular Dad
• 34. Inquisition
• 35. Filling the Void
• 36. At First Light on Christmas Eve
• 37. The Christmas Bird
• 38. The Novelist Returns
• 39. Liebar Gustav 14
• 40. Alison’s Party
• 41. Christmas Morning
• 42. A Feast
• 43. High Spirits
• 44. Rudolph’s Smiling Face
• 45. The Raiders March
• 46. The Solace of Mince Pies
• 47. Home Alone
• 48. Back Then, in Dublin
• 49. St. Stephen’s Day
• 50. Daddy’s Girl
• 51. New Year’s Day
• 52. Back to School
• 53. The High-Bouncing Lover
• 54. After the Bath
• 55. Back Then, in Dublin
• 56. A Common Enemy
• 57. The First of February
• 58. A Promise
• 59. The Birthday Outing
• 60. A Bubble of Happiness
• 61. Back Then, in Cork
• 62. A Proposal
• 63. Three Things
• 64. The Rain Didn’t Let Up
• 65. Floodgates
• 66. After Dark
• 67. Burst
• 68. Flood
• 69. I’ve Got You
• 70. Photo Op
• 71. Resolution
• 72. Getting off Lightly
• 73. High Ground
• 74. To the Rescue
• 75. A Long Story
• 76. The Spare Key
• 77. You’ll Be Grand
• 78. Back Then, in Dublin
• 79. It Could Have Been Worse
• 80. The Weight of Water
• 81. As Good as Family
• 82. You’d Have to Be Mad
• 83. Cleaning Up
• 84. On the Turn of the Stairs
• 85. So Much to Do
• 86. Maeve Is Fine
• 87. She’d Kissed Him, Once
• 88. Sacrifice
• 89. Stop
• 90. Bran Was Gone
• 91. Nothing Left to Lose
• 92. A Wreath of Withered Laurel
• 93. Try Me
• 94. My Amazing Maeve
• 95. The First of April
• 96. Back Then, in Dublin
• 97. Mal Needs Help
• 98. Cnoc Lios Críona The Hill of the Fort of the Heart
• SEPTEMBER
• 99. Filleann an Feall ar an bhFeallaire Treachery Follows the Treacherous
• 100. Noctilucent
• Acknowledgements