THE hit BBC 3 drama Normal People, based on Sally Rooney’s bestseller of the same name, has several parallels with chapters of Monica Flanagan’s extraordinary life; a Sligo student at Trinity College, gift for the English language and an Italian summer.

Born in 1945, Monica grew up in County Sligo, while her parents were from further afield. “My mother, Mary Browne, was from Newtownforbes in Longford and her brother Fraser, known as Horsey Browne, played rugby for Ireland.