''At Swim, Two Boys'' (2001) is a novel by Irish writer Jamie O'Neill. The title is a punning allusion to

Flann O'Brien Brian O'Nolan (; 5 October 19111 April 1966), his pen name being Flann O'Brien, was an Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland, Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth- ...

's ''

At Swim-Two-Birds ''At Swim-Two-Birds'' is a 1939 novel by Irish writer Flann O'Brien, Brian O'Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien. It is widely considered to be O'Brien's masterpiece, and one of the most sophisticated examples of metafiction. The ...

''. The book is written in a stream-of-consciousness style, which has led to favourable comparisons to

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

. Ten years after publication, Alison Walsh, reviewing the year 2001 for the '' Sunday Independent'', called it "a vintage one in Irish writing", specifically naming the "unforgettable" ''At Swim, Two Boys'' alongside books by

Dermot Bolger Dermot Bolger (born 1959) is an Irish novelist, playwright, poet and editor from Dublin, Ireland. Born in the Finglas suburb of Dublin in 1959, his older sister is the writer June Considine. Bolger's novels include ''Night Shift'' (1982), ''T ...

, Eoin Colfer and Nuala O'Faolain. Terry Pender commented on ''At Swim, Two Boys'': "With only this work O'Neill can take his rightful place among the great Irish writers beginning with Joyce and ending with

Roddy Doyle Roderick Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been ...

Plot summary

Set in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

before and during the 1916

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

, ''At Swim, Two Boys'' tells the love story of two Irish boys: Jim Mack and Doyler Doyle. Jim goes to school on a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

(for which he is looked down upon) – he is quiet, studious, thoughtful, and naïve. In contrast, Doyler is outspoken, rebellious, brave, and affectionate. Doyler might once have received a

, like Jim, but Doyler withdrew from school to find work and support his impoverished family, leading the pair to grow apart. They have an additional connection through their fathers, who served in the army together during the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

, and were once best friends.

Events of 1915

Jim attends a

Catholic school Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...

, regularly attends church, and plays in the school's

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

band, where he is the object of his Latin teacher's obsession. ''Brother Polycarp'' likes to have extra prayer sessions with him alone, during which Jim is subject to mild sexual pawing whose nature he does not understand; Jim reminds Polycarp of his own past. Unbeknown to his father, Jim is offered the chance of a vocation to join the brothers of the church. When Doyler joins the flute band, their old friendship is renewed. Doyler takes Jim out to the

Forty Foot The Forty Foot () is a promontory on the southern tip of Dublin Bay at Sandycove, County Dublin, Ireland, from which people have been swimming in the Irish Sea all year round for some 250 years. * * Name The name "Forty Foot" is somewhat ob ...

a well known swimming area in

Dublin Bay Dublin Bay () is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north–south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth He ...

for a swim. The two boys make a pact: Doyler will teach Jim to swim, and in a year, on Easter Sunday, 1916, they will swim to the distant island of Muglins Rock and claim it for themselves. As their friendship grows, Jim reconsiders his vocation, ultimately refusing; Brother Polycarp is emotionally stricken and has to resign. Meanwhile, patriots appear on the novel's stage: ''Madame Eveline MacMurrough'' continues to support the idea of Ireland's liberty. The clergy also supports the patriotic body of thought, in particular, Father Amen O'Toiler – who pushes the boys church's flute band to resemble a regimental band. Even Jim's father, Mr. Mack, who is proud having served as a soldier in an Irish Battalion, is swollen with pride for the boys in MacMurrough's garden, seeing them all in uniform kilts. Only ''Anthony MacMurrough'', the nephew of Eveline MacMurrough, turns away from their politics. After his return from imprisonment in England, for acts of gross indecency, his

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

aunt Eveline MacMurrough is determined to redeem his reputation through a prosperous marriage. In a garden party, Eveline MacMurrough introduces him to Irish society, pushing him to follow her patriotic ideals. However, MacMurrough is still caught up in his memories of imprisonment, conversing with the internal voice of his dead prison-mate, Scrotes, on the fate of homosexuals. In the meantime, Doyler works to help support his family, which has been driven to poverty by Mr. Doyle's alcoholism and illness. Doyler accepts payment from MacMurrough in return for sexual favours. Although Doyler is depicted as accepting his own sexuality, his response to the older man is ambiguous and ultimately MacMurrough fails to attract the boy. Doyler, being a vehement

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and outcast from the society of his home community, leaves home and joins the

Irish Citizen Army The Irish Citizen Army (), or ICA, was a paramilitary group first formed in Dublin to defend the picket lines and street demonstrations of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) against the police during the Great Dublin Lock ...

at Dublin.

Events of 1916

Jim, bereft of the pal of his heart Doyler, befriends MacMurrough, who becomes a mentor to Jim, teaching about

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

as well as

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. MacMurrough finds that he is unable to rid himself of his fascination with the two boys, their relationship and their pact to swim to the Muglins and claim them for Ireland. The night before Easter Sunday, Doyler leaves his duties as army member and visits Jim. They renew their pact, confessing their love for each other. The next morning, Easter Sunday, Jim and Doyler successfully swim to the Muglins. Not only do they claim the islands with an Irish green flag, but they also make love to one another. On their swim back to the Forty Foot, as Doyler is close to drowning, MacMurrough rescues both of them. While Doyler rests and recovers at MacMurrough's house, Jim feels responsible for the duties his friend cannot carry out. As the

takes place, Jim grabs the uniform of Doyler and joins the fighting for the

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...

at Dublin downtown. Meanwhile, MacMurrough does not realize Jim's action. When Doyler discovers what Jim has done, both Doyler and MacMurrough go searching for Jim. As they approach downtown Dublin where the fighting is occurring, Doyler sees Jim standing in the open. Just as the two are about to be reunited, Doyler is himself fatally wounded.

Characters

''Jim'' is the son of shopkeeper Mr. Mack, who runs a small shop for everyday people's needs at

Glasthule Glasthule ( ; ) is a suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is along County Dublin, County Dublin’s south coast, between Dún Laoghaire, Sandycove, Glenageary and Dalkey. Amenities Sandycove and Glasthule are served by a number ...

, close to

. Jim is depicted as a naïve scholar boy and has a shy appearance: Jim Mack is worried about self-abuse and going to hell as he tries to obey to rules of church. He responds to the more experienced Doyler with friendship, which turns to love – possibly even desire, but recoils from Doyler's movements towards intimacy; he would love to kiss his friend, but cannot. Despite his naivete and inhibitions, he has a clear mind, sharp ideas and thoughts. He sees the pact with Doyler to swim to the Muglins as a symbol of their union, their very own experience which no one can take from them. ''Doyler'' is the rough diamond son of Mr. Doyle, who is Mr. Mack's old army pal. Doyler has grown up in poverty, hence he already knows quite a lot about life and is in no way naïve. Doyler used to be Jim's friend when they were about twelve, but Doyler left town for some time looking for work and his Irish roots . As Doyler returns, and the story unfolds, Jim and Doyler are both aged 15 to 16 years old. Doyler is sympathetic to the Irish workers front and later joins the

. ''Madame Eveline MacMurrough'' is depicted as the daughter of a republican figure famous in the history of the local patriotic movement. In the name of Ireland she supports the troops at the Western Front with socks to warm the soldiers' feet, and organizes a garden party to enliven the patriotism of the local society and to support its clubs. Finally, she even backs the Republicans by providing them with weapons for the

. ''Anthony MacMurrough'' is the nephew of Eveline MacMurrough. Jim calls him ''McEmm'' as the story develops. Prior to the novel's action, MacMurrough has served a prison sentence in England of two years'

hard labour Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included inv ...

for acts of gross indecency with a chauffeur-mechanic boy. As he returns to Ireland, his previous cellmate ''Scrotes'' follows in his mind, providing an internal ghostly friend, supporting the soliloquizing of MacMurrough. He stays at the home of his nationalist aunt Eveline MacMurrough, who pushes him to become a patriotic Irishman, mentoring and leading the young, and, in her imagination, eventually marrying. MacMurrough conforms to some degree but recognises his

as a permanent character trait. It is only when he becomes a mentor to Jim and Doyler individually, teaching them about

as well as

and

, that he finds some degree of personal fulfilment.

Awards and nominations

* 2002

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

, section Gay men's fiction * 200
Ferro-Grumley Literary Award
* 200
International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
* 2003 XV Premio Letterario Giuseppe Berto, section foreign fiction (Italy)

Adaptations

Earthfall 2005

Welsh dance company Earthfall created their 2005 production of ''At Swim Two Boys'' as the company's second collaboration with Jamie O’Neill and incorporated both live and archive film footage, live music, dance, and text. The production was inspired by Jamie O’Neill's award-winning novel of the same name. Set in Ireland in 1916, the work juxtaposes the developing love affair between two young men with political turmoil in Ireland and the slaughter on the Western Front – contrasting the dream of national liberation and the search for personal freedom. The production is staged in a slowly filling lake in front of a waterfall and performed by two dancers and two musicians. The original production toured for three years over 5 seasons with over 100 performances, playing to sell-out audiences in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Croatia, and Germany.

Earthfall 2011

Earthfall toured a re-edition of this dance production across the UK in Autumn 2011, to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the publication of the book.http://www.atswimtwoboys.com www.atswimtwoboys.com

Deux garçons, la mer

In September 2014 a play of this name was performed in Paris. Christophe Garro adapted the novel with Jamie's approval, and the characters of Jim, Doyler, McMurrough, and many others were created on stage. An English version of the play is available, and may be produced also. For more information visit the website
deuxgarconslamer.com

Rochester, NY 2018

In December 2018 a play of this name was performed in Rochester, NY at the Multi-Use Community Cultural Center.