Mary launches ’lost husband’

Mary launches ‘lost husband’ book

Claire Egan

IF your partner took off on a three-month trip to Australia, you might be temporarily put out, but would most likely accept it. But what if he failed to return and you embarked on a painstaking and agonising search for him – only to find that he intended to, quite literally, ‘disappear’ from your life.
This is the remarkable true-life tale of Mary Monaghan, a native of the UK and resident of Cape Town, South Africa, with strong Ballinrobe connections. The recently-published author of ‘Remember Me?’ is a regular visitor to Ballinrobe, from where her late parents hailed, now frequently travelling to see her aunt, Annie O’Dwyer, of Glebe Street.
Mary’s parents, Paddy O’Connell and Kathleen O’Toole left the south Mayo town for London in the early 1940s. Paddy joined the Royal Air Force in 1947 leading to the family dividing its time between the UK and Cyprus.
Mary’s own remarkable story began in 1993 when she said goodbye to her husband, John Monaghan, expecting to see him again in three months’ time.
“I met John in Cricklewood, London and we were married in 1985. Our seven-year marriage was a happy one, envied by our friends. Like any marriage, it had some ups and downs, not made any easier by the fact that John was working far away from home, and his business was not doing well,” explained Mary.
“In 1993, we were looking forward to buying and renovating a new house together, but first John felt he needed some ‘time out’ before sorting out his business issues, and he booked a three-month backpacking holiday in Australia. But he never came back. I had no idea where he was or what was happening. I spent six years looking for him, with the assistance of Interpol, before events came to a conclusion. During the intervening years there were so many questions – so much confusion. He just literally disappeared without a trace. If he had even sent a card to explain, perhaps it would have eased the horrendous years that followed his disappearance,” she ex-plained.
Mary eventually tracked John down in Australia and spoke to him by telephone, but has not spoken to him since December 1998. He is currently believed to be residing with another woman in Sydney.
With her heartbreak now behind her, life for the author and Cape Town resident is ‘fantastic’, she says, admitting that it took her a long time to let go of her husband.
The book took approximately two years to come to fruition and was published by Mary’s fledgling publishing house, Tortoise Press. Plans are also in place to turn the novel into a screenplay, with Mary at present working on an initial draft.
“Hopefully, it may be turned into a film and we will see what progress we make on that idea. Life now is great and I have made a fresh start. When I went through those years I never thought it would get better but it has,” concluded Mary.