Just Mary tops hardback bestseller list

Mary O'Rourke to sign her book in Days Bazaar, Mullingar on Friday November 16 from 1pmDespite an initial order of 10,000 copies, Gill and Macmillan publishers have already had to order a second print-run of Mary O'Rourke's memoir Just Mary.It has topped the hardback bestseller list since it was launched by former president Mary McAleese just over three weeks ago. Another 10,000 copies of the book will arrive in the Gill and Macmillan warehouse this week.Just Mary begins with the February 2011 general election, the day Mary O'Rourke's active political career ended. She reflects on key events in her working life, including her brother Brian Lenihan's bid for the presidency, the Eircom sell-off, the infamous St Valentine's Day Massacre when Albert Reynolds took power, and party tensions in the run up to the most recent election. She is frank about the characters she worked with, many of whom defined an era, among them Charlie Haughey, Garret FitzGerald, Pádraig Flynn and Bertie Ahern.She describes life as a woman in the male world of politics, the sexism she sometimes had to deal with, and the difficulties of balancing her busy career with raising a family. She also talks for the first time about her struggle to have children and her battle with post-natal depression, although it was not recognised as such at the time.Devastated as she was by her defeat in 2011, losing an election does not compare with losing loved ones and Mary has had more than her fair share of tragic losses over the years: the untimely death of her husband Enda, her brothers Brian and Paddy, and more recently her nephew and former Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan.Mary O'Rourke is a former deputy leader of Fianna Fáil, who has held a number of senior cabinet positions. She has also been leader of the Seanad and is a frequent guest on radio and television.