AN AMERICAN author who wrote a best-selling novel about a Belfast woman who saved an elephant during the Blitz by taking it home from the Zoo has made a nostalgic return to the city.

Writer S Kirk Walsh from Austin, Texas first became intrigued by the story when it broke back in 2009. Denise Austin was a young woman from the Whitewell Road who made it her mission to save baby elephant Sheila from the Luftwaffe bombing raids — and trigger-happy police officers.

At the beginning of the Blitz the RUC had shot a large number of the animals in Belfast Zoo for fear that they would escape during the intense bombings. As a worker at the zoo, Denise went behind her supervisor’s back and every night would walk Sheila the elephant to her home on Whitewell Road and hide her in her garden.

Speaking about her book, 'The Zookeeper of Belfast', Kirk said she always wanted to pay homage to her Irish roots by writing a novel set in the country.

“In 2009 they discovered the identity of Denise Austin and it made international news. She was referred to as the ‘Elephant Angel' and I remember thinking it would make a really good novel," explained Kirk.

“On my first trip to Belfast I interviewed survivors from the Blitz and felt so honoured that they shared their stories with me. My book came out in April 2021 so I haven’t been to Belfast until now because of the pandemic.”

Kirk used the amazing story in her her novel which tells the wider story about the Luftwaffe attacks which killed over 1,000 people and injured 1,500 more in 1941.

“Denise would bring baby elephant Sheila from the Zoo to her home on Whitewell Road and she keep her in the garden. She would do this every night until the elephant chased a dog and broke through the neighbour's fence and she had to keep the elephant in the Zoo. That didn’t stop her though and she would still go up every time there was a bombing raid and comfort the elephant until it was over.

“This amazing woman gave me the canvas to write a character and to write what it would have been like for a young woman in 1941 with not a lot of options and she’s trying to take some control over these larger events which are going on. It’s an extraordinary story but it’s also a powerful story inside of another powerful story which was the Belfast Blitz."

ICONIC: S Kirk Walsh at Belfast Zoo beside a poster showing Denise Austin and the elephant Sheila
2Gallery

ICONIC: S Kirk Walsh at Belfast Zoo beside a poster showing Denise Austin and the elephant Sheila

On her first trip over since the pandemic Kirk spent the day at the Northern Ireland War Memorial Museum and also spoke with numerous survivors from the Blitz and their family members who were sharing their experiences. 

“It’s been really amazing to come back. I’ve been thinking about the Belfast Blitz for about 10 years now and it’s been amazing hearing people’s stories. My novel is just one version of the story but I hope it can offer a space to talk about the Blitz and get people to share their stories of what happened.”

In April, Kirk was honoured with the Irish Arts Ambassador Medal by the Irish Echo at a ceremony in Buffalo, New York. 

The paperback 'Zookeeper of Belfast' is available from No Alibi's bookshop on Botanic Avenue. The book was originally published in the US as 'The Elephant of Belfast'. You can see more about S Kirk Walsh on her website.

Danny Morrison's review of 'Zookeeper of Belfast' can be read here.