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Insight Horizon Media

What happened in Under the Hawthorn Tree?

Author

Robert Miller

Published Mar 18, 2026

What happened in Under the Hawthorn Tree?

This novel follows the O’Driscoll children in nineteenth century Ireland, as they journey to find their long- lost relatives after being separated from their parents during The Great Famine. The journey is one filled with grief, hardship and difficult obstacles that they must overcome to reach their goal.

What age are the children in Under the Hawthorn Tree?

The story of Under the Hawthorn Tree is about three brave young children, Eily who is twelve, Michael who is ten and Peggy who is seven, who try to survive during the time of the famine in the 1840’s.

What genre is Under the Hawthorn Tree?

Children’s literature
Historical Fiction
Under the Hawthorn Tree/Genres

Who dies in Under the Hawthorn Tree?

Blight has struck the family potato plot, and the children’s baby sister Bridget dies, and is buried under the hawthorn tree in the garden. The three children are left to fend for themselves. Starving, and in danger of the dreaded workhouse, they escape.

Where did the children live in under the hawthorn tree?

The novel tells the story of three siblings, Mary Ellen (Eily), Michael and Margaret (Peggy) O’Driscoll, who live in a small cottage in their home district of Duneen. Ireland is in the height of The Great Hunger.

Who is the illustrator of under the hawthorn tree?

Marita Conlon-McKenna
In Under the Hawthorn Tree, Marita Conlon-McKenna confronted these problems with honesty and simplicity: the plight of three children becomes a kind of pilgrimage.

What happened to the mother in under the hawthorn tree?

Their mother ends up selling all of her belongings except for the clothes on their backs. Desperate and worried that she won’t be able to feed her children alone, she leaves to search for her husband. After waiting for their parents for a few days, the three siblings are forced to leave for the workhouse.

Where is under the hawthorn tree based?

Ireland
Under the Hawthorn Tree is a children’s historical novel by Marita Conlon-McKenna, the first in her Children of the Famine trilogy set at the time of the Great Famine in Ireland.

When was under the hawthorn tree written?

May 1990
When she heard a radio report of an unmarked children’s grave from the Famine period being found under a hawthorn tree, she decided to write her first book, Under the Hawthorn Tree. Published in May 1990, the book was an immediate success and become a classic.

Who wrote under the hawthorn tree?

Under the Hawthorn Tree/Authors

What inspired Marita to write under the Hawthorn Tree?

Marita was always fascinated by the Famine period in Irish history and read everything available on the subject. When she heard a radio report of an unmarked children’s grave from the Famine period being found under a hawthorn tree, she decided to write her first book, Under the Hawthorn Tree.

What is ‘under the Hawthorn Tree’?

And so ‘ Under the Hawthorn Tree’ continues, as new readers discover the story of Eily, Michael and Peggy’s courage and spirit as they fight to survive during the Great Irish Famine.

Why did Anne Frank write under the Hawthorn Tree?

When she heard a radio report of an unmarked children’s grave from the Famine period being found under a hawthorn tree, she decided to write her first book, Under the Hawthorn Tree. Published in May 1990, the book was an immediate success and become a classic.

Who illustrated ‘under the Hawthorn Tree’?

Book covers are so important and I am so fortunate that Donald not only illustrated ‘ Under the Hawthorn Tree’ but also my other books in The Children of the Famine s eries-‘ Wildflower Girl’ and ‘ Fields of Home .’ Donald Teskey is now one of Ireland’s most renowned artists with his incredible evocative landscapes.