Limerick embraced her son’s return

DESPITE international acclaim, Frank McCourt was unsure what welcome he would get from his native city when he came back for the first book signing.

Following the publication of Angela’s Ashes in 1996, a small, vocal band of critics of the book in Limerick captured international media coverage. They challenged some details in his memoirs with the zeal of forensic scientists.

But a long night spent in O’Mahony’s bookshop signing thousands of copies, dispelled any misgivings he might have had about his homecoming.