Beginner’s pluck: Insurance broker worker Deidre O’Neill

'Remnants of Our Past' gives a real sense of Ireland’s social history

Author Deirdre O’Neill’s interest in Ireland’s heritage flourished during lockdown.

One of five children, Deirdre remembers whole days of being snuggled on her bunk bed, reading.

“We were kicked out to play as well, but I wasn’t sporty.”

After dropping out of college, Deirdre started working in insurance.

“I still do,” she says. “I’ve worked in it full time since I was 19.”

Deirdre’s interest in Ireland’s heritage flourished during lockdown.

“I was walking and jogging the same route, and one day I noticed a horse ring on the wall of a church. I must have walked past 50 times and not noticed it.”

She posted a video on TikTok, explaining that people attending Mass once ‘parked’ their horses.

The next morning, I had 12,000 views.

She posted more historical objects and her following grew. Now on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, Deirdre has 232,000 followers.

Her publisher accepted her proposal in 2024.

“I had a lot of ideas in my head that I could shape into the book. For research my husband and I would go for long days out, and the writing involved a lot of late nights and early
mornings.”

Who is Deirdre O’Neill?

Date/ place of birth: 1976/ Dublin.

Education: Stanhope Street Secondary School; University College, Dublin. Arts, for a year and a half; Open University, BA in Humanities.

Home: Castleknock.

Family: Husband Steven; Caitlin, 22; Seán 20, and Cathal, 19.

The day job: Working in an insurance broker.

In another life: “It would have been interesting to study Irish folklore and traditions. Writing the book felt like coming home.”

Favourite writers: Jane Austen; Asenath Nicholson. “Visiting Ireland before the famine, she shows Ireland’s poverty, yet welcome;” Kevin Dinehar; “And as a child I loved Enid Blyton.”

Second book: “There are lots of things I’d love to explore more.”

Top tip: “Follow your interests.”

Instagram: @remnantsofourpast

The debut

Remnants of Our Past

Gill Books, €27.99 (with photos by the author)

The author guides us around Ireland showing us remnants that tell of the lives they once touched. We learn of stories and customs that root our knowledge of past society.

“During research I fell into bog holes and climbed numerous walls.”

The verdict: A gorgeously accessible book to dip into or read straight through. It gives a real sense of Ireland’s social history.