Hyacinth

In mid‑nineteenth‑century Ireland, a wave of English‑backed Protestant missions sweeps into the remote hills of Connemara, promising education and a new faith to a population still reeling from famine. The story follows Æneas Conneally, a bright, fiercely religious young man whose family has been shattered by loss and emigration, and whose mother’s late conversion fuels his own determination to serve his people on his own terms.

Granted a modest rectory, a sturdy church, and a school in the tiny village of Carrowkeel, Æneas sets out to preach in his native tongue, hoping to bridge the cultural divide between the missionary establishment and the stubborn, proud locals. As he navigates the expectations of distant benefactors and the harsh Atlantic landscape, the novel explores the uneasy clash of faith, identity, and the simple dignity of life on the rugged western coast.