Sold into Marriage

In 1973 a sixteen-year-old Irish schoolgirl was sold into marriage by her father. Her groom was a farmer almost four times her age. Despite a pre-nuptial agreement guaranteeing that there would be no sex, her husband raped her repeatedly. He also beat her.

Although she made desperate pleas for help, the legal system, the police and the clergy failed to come to her aid. Sold into Marriage is the story of that girl's loveless marriage, as told to journalist Sean Boyne, her rape, subsequent pregnancy and suicide attempt and her eventual escape to London and freedom.

Auteur

Sean Boyne is a journalist and author. He retired in 2009 as Political Correspondent of the Sunday World, one of Ireland's major newspapers.