By Kathleen A. Crinion
In 1897, a young mother named Julia was taken from her family and confined to an Irish asylum. Her children were sent to the workhouse — never to see her again. For more than a century, her story lay buried beneath silence, shame, and the cold number carved on a forgotten grave: 339.
In Her Name Was Julia, author Kathleen A. Crinion uncovers the heartbreaking truth of her great-great-grandmother’s life — a woman erased by history but not forgotten by her descendants. Blending personal memoir, historical investigation, and a compassionate exploration of Ireland’s treatment of women and mental health, Crinion brings Julia’s voice back to life.What began as a family mystery became a forty-year quest for truth. Drawing from letters, archives, and the fragments of oral history passed down through generations, Kathleen reveals a story of resilience, love, and the enduring human spirit.
Her Name Was Julia is not just a book about the past — it’s about reclaiming identity and healing generational wounds.
Through her work as a psychotherapist and artist, Crinion invites readers to reflect on how silence can shape families — and how storytelling can set them free.
“This story has lived in my family for generations. Writing Her Name Was Julia was both painful and liberating — a way of giving back her name, her dignity, and her place in our story.”
— Kathleen A. Crinion
Publisher: Choice Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-917242-35-6
Genre: Memoir / Irish History / True Story
Available in paperback and on Kindle from: Amazon.co.uk,
Also available to order from ChoicePublishing.ie, and select Irish bookstores
