Rebel Sisters

Born in Dublin in 1956 and brought up in Goatstown, Marita went to school at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Mount Anville, later working in the family business, the bank, and a travel agency. She has four children with her husband James, and they live in the Stillorgan area of Dublin. 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.

Nicola Taggart is an English stage, film and television actress. She graduated from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has appeared in numerous stage productions including Days of Wine and Roses and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In 2013 she performed in the short film So You Want To Be A Writer, and later appeared in the feature film The Rise and Fall of the Krays in 2014. Most recently she has moved into television playing Jill Robertson in the British comedy-drama series, Brief Encounters.