Notre Dame Dublin Celebrates International Women’s Day with Author Betsy Cornwell

Notre Dame Dublin marked its fourth annual International Women’s Day Gathering with an afternoon of conversation, reflection, and connection at O’Connell House. The event brought together women of the Notre Dame community in Dublin for a conversation with New York Times bestselling author and University of Notre Dame MFA in Creative Writing graduate Betsy Cornwell, interviewed by journalist and book reviewer Adrienne Murphy.

Cornwell shared from her new memoir, Ring of Salt, a lyrical and deeply personal account of finding home, hope, and community on Ireland’s western coast. Described by The Irish Times as “extraordinarily moving, exquisitely written, and socially revolutionary,” the memoir traces Cornwell’s journey from a young writer who moved to the Aran Islands to research her novel, to a mother rebuilding her life and creating a new vision for home.

Murphy and Cornwell explored motherhood, time and space, resilience, creativity, and belonging, reflecting on the unexpected turns that shaped Cornwell's life, like leaving an abusive marriage, being a single mother in a new country, navigating Ireland's housing crisis, and finding strength through the support of a global community of women.

Cornwell insists that this is ultimately "a happy story." The memoir culminates in her securing The Old Knitting Factory, a historic building that she transformed from a dream into a home and a creative refuge.

The former knitting factory was built in 1906 as part of an economic scheme to bring work to local women in rural Connemara. It was once an Irish language cinema and a jewelry studio, and then sat empty for several years until Cornwell came across the listing. Dreaming of housing security for her family in the twice-precarious situation as a single mother in Ireland's severe housing crisis, she worked to crowdfund and restore the space as a childcare-inclusive arts retreat for single mothers and other single-parent artists.

"The Old Knitting Factory wasn't a happy ending. It was a chance. I had the chance to mend this house, this old factory where a hundred years ago women had worked to remake their lives. I'd hoped I could remake my own story here, too.

And I had. Writing about the Old Knitting Factory, sharing my story and the story of this house, brought my son and me home—largely through small crowdunding donations from people who recognized some part of their stories in mine. My words and their faith made my home, my dream, come true. That's the realest magic spell I know." - Excerpt from Ring of Salt by Betsy Cornwell

Each year, the International Women’s Day Gathering at Notre Dame Dublin celebrates the voices and experiences of women, recognising the impact of our community and sharing stories that inspire change, foster empathy, and remind us of the homes we build together.