''Trinity'' is a novel by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

author

Leon Uris Leon Marcus Uris (August 3, 1924 – June 21, 2003) was an American author of historical fiction who wrote many bestselling books including ''Exodus'' (published in 1958) and ''Trinity'' (published in 1976). Life and career Uris was born in Bal ...

, published in 1976 by Doubleday. It spent 21 weeks atop ''The New York Times'' Best Sellers list in 1976 and 14 weeks in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

. The book tells the story of the intertwining lives of the following families: the Larkins and O'Neills,

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

hill farmers from the fictional town of Ballyutogue in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

; the Macleods,

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

shipyard workers from

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

; and the Hubbles. The book describes a number of historical events, from the Great Famine of the 1840s to the Easter Rising in 1916.

Plot

Conor's best friend Seamus O'Neill begins school in town under a Protestant named Andrew Ingram. Conor, needed at home, helps his father in the fields, until he becomes an apprentice at a blacksmith shop. As the years pass, the boys become friends with Mr. Ingram, who teaches them of the power of books and the history of their Irish forefathers. Seamus goes to college in Belfast, and Conor heads to Derry. In

Bogside The Bogside is a neighbourhood outside the city walls of Derry, Northern Ireland. The large gable-wall murals by the Bogside Artists, Free Derry Corner and the Gasyard Féile (an annual music and arts festival held in a former gasyard) are p ...

Conor witnesses the extent of the disaster that has befallen the Irish people. Bogside is in tatters and a state of despair that has stricken its inhabitants since before the Great Famine that had taken place between 1845 and 1852. Held down by the Protestant reign in Derry's labor unions, the Catholics are dying slowly without hope. In Derry, Conor discovers other like-minded Irish tired of the oppression of the Catholics by the Protestants. This small group, with the support of the few Irish politicians, becomes the

Republican Brotherhood Republican Brotherhood ( ar, إخوان الجمهوريين) was a small, but influential political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the ...

, the roots of

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

, and the whisper of freedom throughout Ireland.

Reviews

* '' Kirkus Reviews'' * ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

Sequel

A 1995 sequel, '' Redemption'', completes many loose ends in the saga.

References

1976 American novels County Donegal in fiction Doubleday (publisher) books History of Ireland (1801–1923) Novels by Leon Uris Novels set in Ireland {{1970s-novel-stub