Patricia Scanlan on returning to her City Girls after 30 years, tackling tough topics and breaking the mould in Irish fiction (2025)

Known for their warmth and relatability Patricia Scanlan’s books are popular across the globe. None more so than the Dublin author’s debut, City Girl.

Published in 1992, while she was working as a Dublin City librarian, the novel was a trailblazer for contemporary Irish fiction.

Set in Dublin in the late 1980s, the novel follows the exploits of Devlin, Caroline and Maggie and their battles with changing times and turbulent love lives.

In the 30 years since Scanlan has been inundated with requests from her fans to write a follow-up. She has finally given in with the publication of City Girls Forever.

It picks up the story with Devlin Delaney’s iconic gym and spa preparing to mark a big anniversary; Devlin and her best friends are looking forward to a fabulous party where they can all put their problems behind them and celebrate...

We caught up with Scanlan to find out what it was like returning to the setting and characters of the landmark City Girls.

Did you enjoy refamiliarizing yourself with your City Girl characters Devlin, Caroline and Maggie after all these years?

I loved getting back to them. I re-read City Girl, City Women and City Lives to remind myself of what had happened to my gals, because it’s almost 35 years since City Girl was published. It was like we’d never been parted, the way it is with all great friends.

What made you put pen to paper again to write City Girls Forever?

Two fabulous Irish writers, Ciara Geraghty and Caroline Grace-Cassidy started a podcast called Book Birds.

They told me the first book they were going to talk about was City Girl because it had made such an impression, as young women.

I was very honoured. When I listened to it, I realised that City Girl had many themes – grooming and sexual abuse, domestic violence, homophobia, addictions – that Irish commercial fiction hadn’t addressed in the late 80s, early 90s. It was the first of its kind. Five years later a wave of terrific writers – Sheila O’Flanagan, Marian Keyes, Cathy Kelly and many more followed on.

Do you often imagine what happens your characters next and have you thought about the City Girls over the past three decades and wondered where their lives have taken them?

Not really, because I’d be writing another book and would be totally immersed in the lives of the characters I’m writing about.

Have you enjoyed writing about the City Girls ‘in their prime’ and writing primarily about more mature characters and indeed multi-generations within this book?

Yes, so much. It was great to see how their lives progressed, how they dealt with the issues so many women have to deal with - elderly parents, elder abuse, addictions, sexual abuse issues, teen pregnancies, divided families, ex-husbands. All the universal experiences that women the world over experience.

Can I take you back in time and ask what was your original inspiration for City Girl?

In the late 80s Maeve Binchy was our greatest commercial fiction author. She was writing about women in the 50s and 60s. No-one was writing about modern Irish women, who were as dynamic and go ahead as any heroines in New York and London, that Judith Krantz, Barbara Taylor Bradford, and others wrote about. I wrote City Girl to write about modern Irish women, and it really resonated with readers.

Do you map out the plot of each novel in advance or are you surprised by the direction your characters take you on during your writing process?

Only once in my writing career did I write a synopsis. It bore no resemblance to the book I wrote. I’m surprised many times by the directions my characters take. It’s always an exhilarating moment when I find myself writing a sentence and then I realise oooohhhh, we’re going in a direction I hadn’t planned. That’s the magic of writing and it’s so exciting. There was a very minor character in City Girl who, to my amazement arrived back on the scene in City Girls Forever and was pivotal in the direction of Devlin and Colin Cantrell’s plotline.

As ever, you haven’t shied away from tackling some tough subjects. How much did the #MeToo movement inspire you to follow through the Colin Cantrell-King storyline?

It was only when I reread City Girl that I realised Devlin had been groomed by him – grooming wasn’t really talked about back then. And certainly the historical sexual abuse issues that Devlin, Nenita, and Annie all experienced might never have been progressed had it not been for the #MeToo movement.

In tackling contemporary issues, did it make you realise how much society has changed since you became an author?

Very much so. Life in 2025 is far different in many ways to what my City Gals experienced in the 90s. But in many ways, too still the same. One of the big changes is social media and its influences. When I wrote City Girl mobile phones weren’t used – people wrote letters to keep in touch, and beauty salons were only coming to the fore, and nail bars didn’t exist. My niece was horrified when I told her that.

Is there an over-riding message or theme in City Girls Forever?

I think what my readers love is the strength of the friendship between Devlin, Caroline and Maggie. They support each other through thick and thin. There for the good times and the bad, always. Women understand this.

I wrote City Girl to write about modern Irish women, and it really resonated with readers.

— Patricia Scanlan

Are your friendships a constant source of inspiration for your writing?

Always. I’m blessed to have the most wonderful friends. We’ve been friends for decades. We know the ins and outs, the ups and downs of each other. We’ve cried together but mostly we’ve laughed and laughed. They’re a balm to my spirit.

You’re a great champion for other Irish female writers, as seen in your X feed - is that the librarian coming out in you?

It’s more inspired by our beloved Maeve Binchy. The year before I got published I went to a talk Maeve gave to a small writer’s group in Coolock Library. I was in total awe of her and at the end shyly approached her and told her that I was having my first novel published.”Have you an agent?“ she asked in her wonderful matter-of-fact no-nonsense tone. “Choosing an agent is like choosing a husband, difficult and individual.” I said I hadn’t and she gave me the name of three agents, including her own. I decided there and then that I would help any author I could on their publishing journey. Maeve had set the bar high.

City Girls Forever works as a stand-alone novel, but I’m sure you will get lots of people coming to the book without having previously read your others. If they do want to travel back in time, I believe the trilogy is being re-published?

I’m thrilled that New Island Books are republishing the trilogy in Ireland, with gorgeous new cover treatments. I’ve a great connection with New Island. I’m the series editor and a contributing author to our Open Door Literacy series.

Any chance of travelling forward in time and having a City Girls Forever trilogy?

Don’t tempt me.

Which actresses would you choose to play the current day Devlin, Caroline and Maggie?

Katie McGrath, Eve Hewson and Simone Kirby

Finally Patricia, I’m sorry to hear about your cancer diagnosis, how are you keeping?

I had a recent third surgery and thankfully that’s the last one. I’m just waiting for a date for my radiation treatment to begin and when that’s over it’s definitely onwards and upwards.

City Girls Forever by Patricia Scanlan is published by Simon & Schuster and is out now