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Ann Lovett: do her last letters shed light on her tragic death?
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The story of teenager Ann Lovett, who concealed her pregnancy and died shortly after giving birth alone in a grotto in Grandard, County Longford, is a defining tragedy of 1980s Ireland.
The circumstances of Ann's pregnancy and death were cloaked in silence for decades.
Three months after Ann died, her younger sister Trisha took her own life.
In a series of reports for The Irish Times, senior features writer Rosita Boland has cast some light on what happened back then, speaking to the Lovett’s friends, Ann’s boyfriend, and the people of Granard – those who are willing to talk.
Now Rosita has written about another side of Ann and Trisha Lovett. An intelligent, warm, and witty side that is revealed in the letters, notes and cards they wrote to their friends, in the months before their tragic deaths.
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