In the middle of the nineteenth century, a small band of Irish immigrants made their way to Monroe County, Iowa, where the hills and trees reminded them of Ireland. They broke the land, made their homes, and built a church – a great rock cathedral in the wilderness which stands today in the hamlet of Georgetown, Iowa.
In 1950, Father Leo R. Ward, who was born in Jackson Township, wrote the story of the Irish community of Monroe County, centering the tale around a child born in 1860 – a child whose life intertwined with community and church.
Published more than half a century ago, Concerning Mary Ann was long out of print. This new edition preserves Father Ward’s text and adds illustrations – of the community, the history, and of Mary Ann herself.
Leo R. Ward, C.S.C., was a professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. The author of textbooks on philosophy and ethics, he also wrote several popular novels and was an award-winning poet. He was born in Melrose, Iowa in 1893, studied at Notre Dame, Catholic University, and Oxford, and was ordained a Holy Cross priest. His writings on Catholic education were used by Fr. Theodore M. Hesburgh, the president of Notre Dame, as the map to create a world-class Catholic university. He died in 1984.
192 pages, with black and white illustrations.