The Story

We walked back silently in the still evening. Already the first dew was light on the grass, moistening our toecaps to dullness. There was a new easiness between us, an understanding that had no need of words to define and circumscribe it. Inside me, rising like a lark on a bright pillar of air, my spirits soared and sang. The sky out over the islands was still warm with memory of day. A croak of crows, tumbling home to roost, passed overhead, buoyant in the free drift of air. And, over all, the elemental singing in my head. My father had recognised my individuality, my right to be myself, to carve my own destiny out of the unique piece of life that was me.'

Set in County Wexford, Honour Thy Father is a graceful and honest study of a growing child's experience of Irish rural life. McGrath explores familiar study material - a loveless marriage, provincial small-mindedness, boarding school brutality, adolescent sexuality and first love - but breathes new life and vigour into it through his startling freshness of expression and insight.

Centering on the young John Foley's gradually heightening awareness of the complexities and hidden truths of family life, Honour Thy Father is a powerful portrait of a son's struggle for a deeper and more compassionate connection with his father.

Published by BlackStaff Press, 1990 - Buy at Amazon