Novel

"There's moves afoot. The new curate speaks Erse. Did you know that? An Erse-speaking priest. Wouldn't you think they'd get the Latin right first. -Br Polycarp [Act I, Scene 7]

Written by Jamie O'Neill, At Swim, Two Boys tells the story of Dún Laoghaire boys Jim and Doyler and their friendship on the brink of Irish independence. Amid rebellious undercurrents, they navigate an adolescent sea while finding their lives overturned and their innocence washed away on the course to Easter Rising, 1916. Through growing pains and hard-earned maturity, the boys' scope widens to a world of Dublin society and Irish politics. As their year unfolds, they tumult into questioning their friends, families, faith, values, and even their rapidly changing love for each other. Death and heartache plague what should be their halcyon youth. What's left to them is a deeper understanding of things worth living and dying for. Published 11 September 2001, At Swim, Two Boys was released after ten years of written labour from author Jamie O'Neill. Since its wildly successful release, the book has been translated into several languages and adapted into a dance performance as well as a French-language dramatic production. Taking a cue from Flann O'Brien's At Swim, Two Birds, O'Neill's story has drawn comparisons to the works of James Joyce and Roddy Doyle. The book breathes fresh life into dialects and figures of a former Dublin, creating a beautiful celebration of an epoch in the Irish narrative.

Independent - 30 April 2015 Irish Independent - 3 April 2011

At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill, book of a lifetime: Beating desire for freedom

A wild wave of new Irish writing