Maggie O’Farrell

But also, you know, what I said in my letter back to them, I said I was very honoured to be asked, but I was going to turn it down because, and I wrote this in my letter that, so Charles Trevelyan, who I'm sure doesn't need any introduction.

That's right.

So Charles de Ville was appointed British, sorry, famine officer for the Irish famine.

And in 1847, which, as you know, was Black 47, he wrote a letter that described the Great Hunger as a punishment from God for an idle, unself-reliant, ungrateful country.

I mean, all I'm going to say is that a year later, he was given the highest order of knighthood.

So what I said in my letter to the very kind OBE people was that I can't accept an honour that still honours him.

You know, I don't think he should have been given that knighthood.

And I would really quite like it if they revoked it.

And I think they should, I think, as an act of respect.

No, I'd be very surprised if I turned down an OBE, they offered me another one.

But I think maybe that ship has sailed now, which is fine by me.

It's my pleasure.

Thanks for having me, Pat.

The Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk with Timber Living Log Cabins.

Thank you so much for having me.

It's lovely to be here.

Oh, well, I'd say it crept up on me very slowly.

I've always really been interested in the life of my great-great-grandfather, on whom, to us, the character is based.

He worked for the Ordnance Survey in Ireland in the mid-19th century, just after the Great Famine had taken place.

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