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The island of horses
Chosen by the Sunday Times (London) as one of its 99 Best Books for Children
The people of remote Inishrone, a few miles off the Connemara coast, know better than to go to the Island of Horses. Everyone has heard tales of men who have gone there and never come back. Yet one day young Pat Conroy and his friend Danny MacDonagh head off anyway, telling their parents that they are fishing for eels. On the island they find no ghosts but many mysteries, including a beautiful—and tame—black colt. But when they return home, with the colt in tow, they find themselves launched into a world of trouble. Before their adventure is over, the boys must brave rough seas and the murderous duplicity of a conniving horse trader, with only the advice of Pat's frail grandmother and their own good sense to guide them.
A loving, clear-eyed portrait of rural Irish life, The Island of Horses is fraught with suspense and peopled with unforgettable individuals.
The people of remote Inishrone, a few miles off the Connemara coast, know better than to go to the Island of Horses. Everyone has heard tales of men who have gone there and never come back. Yet one day young Pat Conroy and his friend Danny MacDonagh head off anyway, telling their parents that they are fishing for eels. On the island they find no ghosts but many mysteries, including a beautiful—and tame—black colt. But when they return home, with the colt in tow, they find themselves launched into a world of trouble. Before their adventure is over, the boys must brave rough seas and the murderous duplicity of a conniving horse trader, with only the advice of Pat's frail grandmother and their own good sense to guide them.
A loving, clear-eyed portrait of rural Irish life, The Island of Horses is fraught with suspense and peopled with unforgettable individuals.
1 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
About the author
Eilís Dillon
57 books34 followersEilís Dillon (1920-1994) was born in Galway, in the West of Ireland. Her father, Thomas Dillon, was Professor of Chemistry at University College Galway. Her mother, Geraldine Plunkett, was the sister of the poet Joseph Mary Plunkett, one of the seven signatories of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, who was executed in Kilmainham Gaol at the end of the 1916 Easter Rising.
Eilís was educated at the Ursuline Convent in Sligo, and was sent to work in the hotel and catering business in Dublin. In 1940, at the age of 20, she married a 37-year-old Corkman. Her husband, Cormac Ó Cuilleanáin, became Professor of Irish at University College Cork. Eilís had always written poetry and stories, and in the intervals of bringing up three children and running a student hostel for the university, she developed her writing into a highly successful professional career. At first she wrote children's books in Irish and English, then started to write novels and detective stories. Over twenty of her books were published by Faber and Faber, winning critical acclaim and a wide readership. Her work was translated into fourteen languages.
In the 1960s, her husband's poor health prompted early retirement and a move to Rome. He died in 1970. Eilís Dillon's large historical novel about the road to Irish independence in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Across the Bitter Sea, was published in 1973 by Hodder & Stoughton in London, and Simon & Schuster in New York. It became an instant bestseller.
In 1974 Eilís married Vivian Mercier, Professor of English in the University of Colorado at Boulder. They moved to California when Vivian was appointed to a chair in the University of California, Santa Barbara. They spent each winter in California until Vivian's retirement in 1987, returning to Ireland for the spring and summer.
Eilís Dillon was active in a number of public and cultural bodies. She served on the Arts Council, the International Commission for English in the Liturgy, the Irish Writers' Union and the Irish Writers' Centre. She was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and a member of Aosdána, the State academy of writers, artists and composers. She had long argued for the establishment of such a body.
Vivian's death in 1989 was followed by the death in 1990 of Eilís's daughter Máire, who was a violinist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Despite these blows, and her own declining health, Eilís kept writing until the last months of her own life. An honorary doctorate was conferred on her by University College Cork in 1992. Her last two published works were Children of Bach (1993), a children's novel set in Hungary at the time of the Holocaust, and her edition of Vivian Mercier's posthumous Modern Irish Literature: Sources and Founders (Oxford, 1994). Her scholarly work on this book meant that her own last novel remained unfinished.
Eilís Dillon died on 19 July 1994. Of her fifty books, ten are now in print and others will shortly be republished. A special prize, the Eilís Dillon Award, is given each year as part of the Bisto Book Awards. She herself had won the main Bisto Book of the Year award in 1989 with The Island of Ghosts.
Eilís was educated at the Ursuline Convent in Sligo, and was sent to work in the hotel and catering business in Dublin. In 1940, at the age of 20, she married a 37-year-old Corkman. Her husband, Cormac Ó Cuilleanáin, became Professor of Irish at University College Cork. Eilís had always written poetry and stories, and in the intervals of bringing up three children and running a student hostel for the university, she developed her writing into a highly successful professional career. At first she wrote children's books in Irish and English, then started to write novels and detective stories. Over twenty of her books were published by Faber and Faber, winning critical acclaim and a wide readership. Her work was translated into fourteen languages.
In the 1960s, her husband's poor health prompted early retirement and a move to Rome. He died in 1970. Eilís Dillon's large historical novel about the road to Irish independence in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Across the Bitter Sea, was published in 1973 by Hodder & Stoughton in London, and Simon & Schuster in New York. It became an instant bestseller.
In 1974 Eilís married Vivian Mercier, Professor of English in the University of Colorado at Boulder. They moved to California when Vivian was appointed to a chair in the University of California, Santa Barbara. They spent each winter in California until Vivian's retirement in 1987, returning to Ireland for the spring and summer.
Eilís Dillon was active in a number of public and cultural bodies. She served on the Arts Council, the International Commission for English in the Liturgy, the Irish Writers' Union and the Irish Writers' Centre. She was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and a member of Aosdána, the State academy of writers, artists and composers. She had long argued for the establishment of such a body.
Vivian's death in 1989 was followed by the death in 1990 of Eilís's daughter Máire, who was a violinist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Despite these blows, and her own declining health, Eilís kept writing until the last months of her own life. An honorary doctorate was conferred on her by University College Cork in 1992. Her last two published works were Children of Bach (1993), a children's novel set in Hungary at the time of the Holocaust, and her edition of Vivian Mercier's posthumous Modern Irish Literature: Sources and Founders (Oxford, 1994). Her scholarly work on this book meant that her own last novel remained unfinished.
Eilís Dillon died on 19 July 1994. Of her fifty books, ten are now in print and others will shortly be republished. A special prize, the Eilís Dillon Award, is given each year as part of the Bisto Book Awards. She herself had won the main Bisto Book of the Year award in 1989 with The Island of Ghosts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
September 27, 2022
The Island of Horses is where Danny and Pat's family lived a couple generations ago. The men hated the winters there and decided to leave. Their boats were laden with their homes furniture. The tales were told that the Island was unlucky and the storms strange.
One day Danny and Pat decide to see what the Island and stories are all about. They could feel their thunder the wild horses hooves made while they slept. After a couple of days roaming the Island they came back with a colt and barrels of eels.
Not all the horses there are wild. They discover that Coffey is a horrible person when it comes to the horses and the Island, this discovery puts them in trouble.
They take Grandmother to the Island. As they approached her face held love as she gazed upon it. She headed toward the home where she was born. The house in such disrepair still had points of memories for her. "There's no place in the whole wide world like the Island of Horses!"
Ellis Dillon does an excellent job keeping you drawn to the sea and the mystery of the island with her words. She captures the Irish farm life beautifully.
One day Danny and Pat decide to see what the Island and stories are all about. They could feel their thunder the wild horses hooves made while they slept. After a couple of days roaming the Island they came back with a colt and barrels of eels.
Not all the horses there are wild. They discover that Coffey is a horrible person when it comes to the horses and the Island, this discovery puts them in trouble.
They take Grandmother to the Island. As they approached her face held love as she gazed upon it. She headed toward the home where she was born. The house in such disrepair still had points of memories for her. "There's no place in the whole wide world like the Island of Horses!"
Ellis Dillon does an excellent job keeping you drawn to the sea and the mystery of the island with her words. She captures the Irish farm life beautifully.
January 25, 2021
For some reason this story failed to keep my interest while reading it, so it was a big disappointment. Instead it had me yawning and literally falling asleep. And that's never a good sign.
This is the story about two teenage boys who live in Ireland. They are fifteen and sixteen. One day as they are taking their small boat out to sea to catch eels, they decided to go visit the nearby Island of Horses. Their family had originally lived on the island of horses but had to be evacuated years ago due to a horrible winter storm that had destroyed the homes. Rumors say the island is haunted and that no one should go there...and that people who do go there don't ever return. So of course the boys go there!
I think this is supposed to be a mystery but I didn't find it either mysterious or suspenseful. If anything the story dragged and most of the actual story takes place in various towns and sort of deals with politics. It's like the horses were added as a tiny plot device but they really don't play a big part of the story at all.
Also I couldn't connect with any of the characters in here and didn't care about any of them. I also found myself confused about a few things, like how can they sit on the hob of a lit fireplace? I looked the term up and it seems to be actually something inside the fireplace? It's a minor thing really but still confusing and terms like this can affect one's understanding of the story. This story was originally published in 1956 so maybe back then everyone knew what a hob was but if you grew up with a gas furnace then fireplaces are totally foreign and just something you see on TV.
I also question some of the horse stuff in here, especially the stuff with the wild colt and filly. It seems unrealistic. There's also the mares and the stallion to consider. There's a reason horses live in a herd. So I do wonder if the author actually knew anything about horses? Then there's the incident that's on the cover, with the stallion. Not believable (if you actually know anything about horses and their behavior).
This is the story about two teenage boys who live in Ireland. They are fifteen and sixteen. One day as they are taking their small boat out to sea to catch eels, they decided to go visit the nearby Island of Horses. Their family had originally lived on the island of horses but had to be evacuated years ago due to a horrible winter storm that had destroyed the homes. Rumors say the island is haunted and that no one should go there...and that people who do go there don't ever return. So of course the boys go there!
I think this is supposed to be a mystery but I didn't find it either mysterious or suspenseful. If anything the story dragged and most of the actual story takes place in various towns and sort of deals with politics. It's like the horses were added as a tiny plot device but they really don't play a big part of the story at all.
Also I couldn't connect with any of the characters in here and didn't care about any of them. I also found myself confused about a few things, like how can they sit on the hob of a lit fireplace? I looked the term up and it seems to be actually something inside the fireplace? It's a minor thing really but still confusing and terms like this can affect one's understanding of the story. This story was originally published in 1956 so maybe back then everyone knew what a hob was but if you grew up with a gas furnace then fireplaces are totally foreign and just something you see on TV.
I also question some of the horse stuff in here, especially the stuff with the wild colt and filly. It seems unrealistic. There's also the mares and the stallion to consider. There's a reason horses live in a herd. So I do wonder if the author actually knew anything about horses? Then there's the incident that's on the cover, with the stallion. Not believable (if you actually know anything about horses and their behavior).
September 22, 2012
When this book arrived in the mail, I didn't mean to read it just then; I only stuck my nose in to take a peek. Hours later I emerged, well satisfied at an enthralling read. Originally published in 1956, this book was reissued in 2004 by the New York Review Children's Collection. The author, Eilis Dillon, was a highly respected Irish writer for whom there is now an award in her honor for a First Children's Book, presented annually in the Republic of Ireland by the Children's Books Ireland (CBI).
This story takes place in the islands off the western coast of Ireland and offers a real feel for village life there in the first half of the 20th century. It was a life thoroughly connected to the sea, so the two teenaged boys spend a lot of time on their own, in boats. The story is so well-told, you feel as though you are walking the village paths with the boys, meeting the quirky individuals who live there, There are some bad guys, of course, but you will have to solve the mystery of the Island of Horses along with the boys to realize who they are. Although the protagonists are teen boys, I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't get caught up in this exciting tale. If you've had a rough week and just need to sail away in the pages of a good book, here is the very one for you.
This story takes place in the islands off the western coast of Ireland and offers a real feel for village life there in the first half of the 20th century. It was a life thoroughly connected to the sea, so the two teenaged boys spend a lot of time on their own, in boats. The story is so well-told, you feel as though you are walking the village paths with the boys, meeting the quirky individuals who live there, There are some bad guys, of course, but you will have to solve the mystery of the Island of Horses along with the boys to realize who they are. Although the protagonists are teen boys, I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't get caught up in this exciting tale. If you've had a rough week and just need to sail away in the pages of a good book, here is the very one for you.
July 4, 2022
This was an enjoyable read, especially the ending. 3.5 stars!
March 7, 2017
I LOVE islands. Some people are mountain people, some people are city people. I’m an island person. Whenever I have been on an island, especially a smaller island, I always feel right at home.
When my family visited Grand Caymans Island about 8 years ago, we drove around the whole island, and explored every inch that we could in the two weeks we were there. We did the same thing when we were on the Big Island of Hawaii. And when we were on little Kelly’s Island on Lake Erie in Ohio.
Written in the 1950’s, this story is about Danny and Patrick, two friends who decide one day to head out to the Island of Horses and the adventures the ensue afterwards.
This story gave me all the island feels I could ask for. While the plot and the character development were ok for me- nothing noteworthy- what made this story special for me was the way the author captured what it felt like to discover and explore an island.
I could feel and sense so many things while reading this book, the salty sea air, the silver stand of sand wrapping around the island, the tall cliffs, the green valleys, the abandoned stone houses.
If you like the sound of a young adult book that captures the atmosphere and sense of wonder that an Irish island holds, then read this book.
December 26, 2020
This is a great homeschool read aloud book. It’s a good historical fiction piece.
March 8, 2023
A hidden gem of children's literature!
July 17, 2022
While I probably read one or more of Dillon's books as a child since a couple of titles are familiar, this is probably the first time I've read this one.
Pat's family lived on the Island of Horses until his grandmother was a young woman and things had become so difficult all but his grandmother moved to the US (Portland--it doesn't say which one, but I am guessing the one in Maine since many Irish fled to New England.) He and Danny go there one day just to see it, even though it's forbidden, but do the eeling they were sent out to do while they are there. Pat sees a wild colt he wants to help his brother marry the woman he loves (that stuff is in the book) but it isn't long before trouble begins over the colt because it turns out that some of the horses got on that island via a horse thief.
The characters are good and this is a well written adventure novel for children.
Pat's family lived on the Island of Horses until his grandmother was a young woman and things had become so difficult all but his grandmother moved to the US (Portland--it doesn't say which one, but I am guessing the one in Maine since many Irish fled to New England.) He and Danny go there one day just to see it, even though it's forbidden, but do the eeling they were sent out to do while they are there. Pat sees a wild colt he wants to help his brother marry the woman he loves (that stuff is in the book) but it isn't long before trouble begins over the colt because it turns out that some of the horses got on that island via a horse thief.
The characters are good and this is a well written adventure novel for children.
February 27, 2022
I would've been all over this book as a child. I'm kind of sad I found it now, when I'm close to my sixth decade on this planet but, you know what they say about making up for lost time.
On the island of Inishrone, off the coast of Connemara, Ireland, live Danny and his best friend, Pat. Pat is a year older and a bit more adventuresome, with a grandmother who knows too much about what's going on all over the island, and often what's going on with Pat. Pat's older brother is courting the girl of an angry man, who's promised Barbara away to an old man with money. Pat is trying to figure a way to get past this - and also get past Mike Coffey, a trader who always manages to swindle the islanders in some way or another, and most recently keep Pat's own wool business from coming to fruition.
When a Dutch captain docks at Inishrone, Pat and Danny sail off to find eels as the captain is fond of the meat on the fishes. Pat comes up with the idea he and Danny ought to go to the Island of Horses, off the coast of Inishrone, where his grandmother lived as a child.
The island is known for being haunted - many, many years ago, Spaniards lost their boat there, and their cargo of beautiful horses. Only one man survived (one of Pat's ancient relatives) but the horses came ashore. The island is said to be haunted by the ghosts of the Spaniards which makes it even more delicious to a pair of teenage boys and off they go.
They shortly find the eels but even more amazing, some houses still standing (though missing roofs and walls). The boys decide to stay the night and are awoken by the sound of thunder - a herd of horses charging by. And the horses lead them to a hidden strand on the island, a place of beauty hidden from plain sight, a place where they find a whole herd of wild horses in greys and blacks...and a gorgeous black colt that Pat must bring home.
Thus starts the story and we're almost a third of the way through the book at this point. Once the boys get the colt home, their troubles start - accused of stealing the colt, the Guard (local officers of the law) come to take the boys away by boat - right into the teeth of a storm. And when Danny realizes maybe these men aren't actually the law, things go sideways.
A lovely, enjoyable story with so much description packed into it, you can almost taste the green, salty air and hear the horses squeals and whinnies. It moves a bit more slowly than current stories are told but that gives you more time to enjoy the land, as it were. Danny and Pat are wonderful characters as is Pat's grandmother. I'd pay to have stories just about the grandmother, truly.
On the island of Inishrone, off the coast of Connemara, Ireland, live Danny and his best friend, Pat. Pat is a year older and a bit more adventuresome, with a grandmother who knows too much about what's going on all over the island, and often what's going on with Pat. Pat's older brother is courting the girl of an angry man, who's promised Barbara away to an old man with money. Pat is trying to figure a way to get past this - and also get past Mike Coffey, a trader who always manages to swindle the islanders in some way or another, and most recently keep Pat's own wool business from coming to fruition.
When a Dutch captain docks at Inishrone, Pat and Danny sail off to find eels as the captain is fond of the meat on the fishes. Pat comes up with the idea he and Danny ought to go to the Island of Horses, off the coast of Inishrone, where his grandmother lived as a child.
The island is known for being haunted - many, many years ago, Spaniards lost their boat there, and their cargo of beautiful horses. Only one man survived (one of Pat's ancient relatives) but the horses came ashore. The island is said to be haunted by the ghosts of the Spaniards which makes it even more delicious to a pair of teenage boys and off they go.
They shortly find the eels but even more amazing, some houses still standing (though missing roofs and walls). The boys decide to stay the night and are awoken by the sound of thunder - a herd of horses charging by. And the horses lead them to a hidden strand on the island, a place of beauty hidden from plain sight, a place where they find a whole herd of wild horses in greys and blacks...and a gorgeous black colt that Pat must bring home.
Thus starts the story and we're almost a third of the way through the book at this point. Once the boys get the colt home, their troubles start - accused of stealing the colt, the Guard (local officers of the law) come to take the boys away by boat - right into the teeth of a storm. And when Danny realizes maybe these men aren't actually the law, things go sideways.
A lovely, enjoyable story with so much description packed into it, you can almost taste the green, salty air and hear the horses squeals and whinnies. It moves a bit more slowly than current stories are told but that gives you more time to enjoy the land, as it were. Danny and Pat are wonderful characters as is Pat's grandmother. I'd pay to have stories just about the grandmother, truly.
July 14, 2016
The folks of Inishrone, live on one of the islands off the western coast of Ireland. Everyone's life is bound in one way or another to the vast sea that surrounds them, so boats are woven into the very fibre of their beings.
Two teenage boys, Pat Conroy and his friend Danny MacDonagh head off by boat on an unforgettable adventure to the Island of Horses where they are forbidden to go. Once there they must practice their survival skills and to their delight they discover a herd of beautiful wild horses in a valley. They manage to capture a stunning little black colt which they bring aboard their boat and back to their island. He is a gift like no other they have ever witnessed. The boys decide not to keep the prize pony for themselves even although Pat's heart aches to do so. They instead give it as a bridal present to appease a mean, tyrannical shopkeeper on another island. This resplendent bribe will result in the shopkeeper consenting to give his lovely daughter in marriage to one of the boys from the Inishrone clan.
Once the colt is unveiled to the islanders the boys find themselves in a load of trouble. These difficulties lead the duo to brave turbulent seas, tangle with an evil conniving horse trader relying only on the wisdom and advice of Pat's fragile grandmother and their own instincts to guide them.
The story is told eloquently from start to finish and gives the reader a perfect portrayal of rural Irish life. The characters penned are strong and believable. There is the perfect blend of suspense and resolve throughout. I loved the book and I highly, highly recommend it.
Two teenage boys, Pat Conroy and his friend Danny MacDonagh head off by boat on an unforgettable adventure to the Island of Horses where they are forbidden to go. Once there they must practice their survival skills and to their delight they discover a herd of beautiful wild horses in a valley. They manage to capture a stunning little black colt which they bring aboard their boat and back to their island. He is a gift like no other they have ever witnessed. The boys decide not to keep the prize pony for themselves even although Pat's heart aches to do so. They instead give it as a bridal present to appease a mean, tyrannical shopkeeper on another island. This resplendent bribe will result in the shopkeeper consenting to give his lovely daughter in marriage to one of the boys from the Inishrone clan.
Once the colt is unveiled to the islanders the boys find themselves in a load of trouble. These difficulties lead the duo to brave turbulent seas, tangle with an evil conniving horse trader relying only on the wisdom and advice of Pat's fragile grandmother and their own instincts to guide them.
The story is told eloquently from start to finish and gives the reader a perfect portrayal of rural Irish life. The characters penned are strong and believable. There is the perfect blend of suspense and resolve throughout. I loved the book and I highly, highly recommend it.
July 2, 2011
A children's book published in 1956, this was a well-written story about 2 boys living in the Aran Islands. Part mystery, part adventure -- just a good read about a part of the world that I find compelling. Despite its age, the writing isn't really dated, no details that made me squirm in discomfort. A book that I would -- without reserve -- hand to a middle grade reader. If you enjoyed the movie The Secret of Roan Inish, you will enjoy this book. I plan to read others by this author.
July 17, 2017
As a young reader, I would have loved this book for its exciting story of two teenage boys exploring a deserted island off the Connemara coast of Ireland. As an older reader, I also loved it for the realistic portrayal of life on the remote island of Inishrone and for the wonderful characters of Luke the Cats and the old grandmother who used to live on the Island of Horses.
September 19, 2013
ripping good yarn! Irish island sea story with horses. Great! Boys and horses. Great adventure story. A step up for Hardy Boys readers. Wonderful language.
March 3, 2017
Loved this book as a child. Still love it. Atmospheric and very evocative of Ireland.
July 15, 2018
One from the past. Given to me by my Aunty Collette. I remember it. It's really good when you're reading background is filled in with culture variance.
March 23, 2023
Le roman se lit bien, la plume de l'auteure et très agréable et ses descriptions de la vie, de l'environnement et des relations entre les personnages sont très belles. Elles nous plonge dans une Irlande insulaire où la vie des habitants tournent autour de la laine, de la patate et de la mer. Cliché ? Pas tant que ça.
Et la mer justement, belle, généreuse et aussi sauvage que les chevaux de l'île, est omniprésente tout au long de l'histoire, et est si importante qu'elle rythme les aventures des héros en plus de la vie de tout le village.
On se retrouve au côté de personnages qui n'ont d'autre choix que de vivre en harmonie avec la nature indomptable, parfois destructrice, qui les entourent.
Et la mer justement, belle, généreuse et aussi sauvage que les chevaux de l'île, est omniprésente tout au long de l'histoire, et est si importante qu'elle rythme les aventures des héros en plus de la vie de tout le village.
On se retrouve au côté de personnages qui n'ont d'autre choix que de vivre en harmonie avec la nature indomptable, parfois destructrice, qui les entourent.
October 22, 2022
Wonderful, atmospheric, evocative of time and place. I loved this story and felt as if I was right there with the young teen boys, discovering the hidden valley full of horses on the island off the Irish shore.
May 19, 2023
A fantastic children's book. At the centre are two young protagonists who sail off on an adventure and unearth a mystery. it's almost a Huck Finn/Tom Sawyer story. Well written, great characters and a good plot.
February 23, 2018
three and a half stars
March 24, 2020
Cute little adventure book with an Irish flair. I definitely would have liked this book as a kid who devoured such series as Thoroughbred, Pony Pals, and Animal Ark.
May 13, 2020
Beautiful book! Worth reading again as it is so picturesque 🥰
June 12, 2021
Simple and rhythmic writing, an interesting view into rural life. The ending was anticlimactic but it is also a children's book so keep your expectations in check.
January 13, 2022
Reminiscent of Roan Inish -- a fun ride over the waves in Ireland
December 29, 2020
If you like islands, Ireland, horses and/or headstrong grandmothers, you'll be into this.
January 12, 2013
The book begins with the narrator – Danny MacDonough – noting that his memories of the Island of Horses are dominated by the impressions from his first actual visit to the island with his friend Pat Conroy. Their first trip to the Island of Horses (and subsequent visits, related to the crime that they discover is associated with the island) make up much of the substance of this bittersweet and nostalgic 1956 young adult novel by Irish writer Eilis Dillon.
Far more than the novel's plot, I lingered with Dillon’s loving descriptions of the people and places of the boys’ fictional Irish island Inishrone, which the narrator asserts exists three miles from the Connemara coast in the Atlantic Ocean. (The [also fictional] Island of Horses is five or so miles away from Inishrone.) Many times while reading I paused to go to my computer and specifically to Google, where I could look up images of the items, places and animals the narrator names: things like pookaun, conger eel (which are surprisingly big), coracle, rockfish, turf, and others (many sea-related) which were foreign to me as a Michigan native who has lived most of her life in the 21st century.
In fact, I felt that for Dillon the plot of The Island of Horses was simply an excuse to delve into the texture and feeling of remote island village life in western Ireland in the middle of the 20th century. One of the book’s central figures, “the grandmother,” an eccentric old woman and Pat’s grandmother, is haunted by memories of her youth and young adulthood living on the Island of Horses, before a catastrophic winter storm forced its inhabitants to emigrate from the island. Both Pat and Danny have listened to the grandmother’s stories of the Island of Horses their entire lives and have since realized that she lives in a state of permanent longing for the island, the emigration from it having arrested her psychological development. It is certainly not for nothing that when Pat and Danny revisit the Island of Horses late in the novel, they find the grandmother and invite her to join them. When they arrive, they (and their friend Luke) are the only ones to witness her find closure among the ruins of the island’s village and her childhood home.
The grandmother isn’t the only character to dwell more in the past than the present. Danny describes the ancient feud between the residents of Inishrone and the Connemara coast, originating in a relatively minor episode from centuries before, when an Irish priest tried to flee to Inishrone from English soldiers. As a result of the incident, the communities – both of them rural – despise one another and frequently trade insults, such as the coastal people’s insult that the island people wear cowskin boots, which they find ridiculous-looking. Dillon relates these details not in a condescending or dismissive way, but again, lovingly, and I felt that she was inviting the reader to experience how it might feel to live in such a rich but tiny social world as Danny and Pat’s.
The last observation I have is related to Dillon’s prose. There are passages embedded in the plot that blaze up with verisimilitude and emotion. It is hard to miss the intense wonder with which Pat and Danny discover the beach on the Island of Horses that the grandmother has told them about so many times before:
“This was Mrs. Conroy’s silver strand, without a doubt. Now we could see that she was right when she said it was the finest strand in the world. It faced directly out toward the west, with nothing between it and America…We knew that it must be sandy for a long way out, because the waves never broke until they were almost ashore. Then they slid back again, with a wonderful, deep-singing roar, like a huge organ playing in an empty church” (30).
The careful and authoritative physical detail that Dillon includes – for example, the boys’ sense of the depth of the water because of the point where the waves break – along with their innocent exaggeration – “nothing between [the beach] and America” – lend the boys’ story a powerful sense of psychological truth. I don’t doubt that Dillon was writing very much from her personal observations of Irish village life over the course of her travels around Ireland, and for some reason I felt reassured thinking about her lifelong commitment to those places and people.
Far more than the novel's plot, I lingered with Dillon’s loving descriptions of the people and places of the boys’ fictional Irish island Inishrone, which the narrator asserts exists three miles from the Connemara coast in the Atlantic Ocean. (The [also fictional] Island of Horses is five or so miles away from Inishrone.) Many times while reading I paused to go to my computer and specifically to Google, where I could look up images of the items, places and animals the narrator names: things like pookaun, conger eel (which are surprisingly big), coracle, rockfish, turf, and others (many sea-related) which were foreign to me as a Michigan native who has lived most of her life in the 21st century.
In fact, I felt that for Dillon the plot of The Island of Horses was simply an excuse to delve into the texture and feeling of remote island village life in western Ireland in the middle of the 20th century. One of the book’s central figures, “the grandmother,” an eccentric old woman and Pat’s grandmother, is haunted by memories of her youth and young adulthood living on the Island of Horses, before a catastrophic winter storm forced its inhabitants to emigrate from the island. Both Pat and Danny have listened to the grandmother’s stories of the Island of Horses their entire lives and have since realized that she lives in a state of permanent longing for the island, the emigration from it having arrested her psychological development. It is certainly not for nothing that when Pat and Danny revisit the Island of Horses late in the novel, they find the grandmother and invite her to join them. When they arrive, they (and their friend Luke) are the only ones to witness her find closure among the ruins of the island’s village and her childhood home.
The grandmother isn’t the only character to dwell more in the past than the present. Danny describes the ancient feud between the residents of Inishrone and the Connemara coast, originating in a relatively minor episode from centuries before, when an Irish priest tried to flee to Inishrone from English soldiers. As a result of the incident, the communities – both of them rural – despise one another and frequently trade insults, such as the coastal people’s insult that the island people wear cowskin boots, which they find ridiculous-looking. Dillon relates these details not in a condescending or dismissive way, but again, lovingly, and I felt that she was inviting the reader to experience how it might feel to live in such a rich but tiny social world as Danny and Pat’s.
The last observation I have is related to Dillon’s prose. There are passages embedded in the plot that blaze up with verisimilitude and emotion. It is hard to miss the intense wonder with which Pat and Danny discover the beach on the Island of Horses that the grandmother has told them about so many times before:
“This was Mrs. Conroy’s silver strand, without a doubt. Now we could see that she was right when she said it was the finest strand in the world. It faced directly out toward the west, with nothing between it and America…We knew that it must be sandy for a long way out, because the waves never broke until they were almost ashore. Then they slid back again, with a wonderful, deep-singing roar, like a huge organ playing in an empty church” (30).
The careful and authoritative physical detail that Dillon includes – for example, the boys’ sense of the depth of the water because of the point where the waves break – along with their innocent exaggeration – “nothing between [the beach] and America” – lend the boys’ story a powerful sense of psychological truth. I don’t doubt that Dillon was writing very much from her personal observations of Irish village life over the course of her travels around Ireland, and for some reason I felt reassured thinking about her lifelong commitment to those places and people.
February 28, 2015
The author's narrative style is easy, natural, serves as a tool to seamlessly transport the reader to the scene. I enjoyed learning of the unique Irish watercraft from a landlubber's perspective, and most all the characters were enjoyably realistic for their situation and period. This was a story that was easy to keep on wanting to read more of.
October 25, 2015
I started this after a trip to Ireland, in the way you come home and try to make soda bread - and fail. But Dillon's book is the real thing, and it kept my Irish idyll going long after I'd returned to the US. Beautiful language, wonderful descriptions of the west coat islands, scheming horse traders, Irish grannies - lots of fun. Love these reprints by the New York Review for children.
January 2, 2008
Wow, this was an exciting adventure novel set on the rural Irish coast. Very schoolboy but with lots of heart. A surprise since I had never heard of it. Reminded Bob of the Black Stallion books but gave such flavor for the life of the village/area.
November 2, 2013
A terrific adventure set in the west of Ireland. It is superbly well written and never condescending towards children, either in the book or as the intended readers, although it works very well for adults too.
June 23, 2013
A great read, even for adults; it feels like Hardy Boys for the Irish.
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