Spain, Jo

The Irish author Joanne ‘Jo’ Spain was born into a working-class family in the little notorious residential district of Belcamp, close to Coolock in Dublin. Her father, who was close to her even though he was an alcoholic, died when she was young. She attended St. John of God’s School in Artane in northern Dublin, and subsequently studied Politics and Philosophy at Trinity College in the city. This was an unusual step for a young Belcamp resident: ‘Everybody I grew up with went to work in Dunnes at the age of 16 or 17. Nobody went to college, let alone into jobs. And a lot of people went to prison," she has explained in an interview.