Ages 12 and up

In 1900, a fourteen-year-old boy leaves Ireland, where he is bullied for his English blood, to come to America. He hopes to find acceptance and perhaps his father, groom to an earl, who disappeared long ago. Instead, as he travels around New York City with the black carter with whom he works, he sees that here too Irish and English, blacks and whites, and even horse and man are drawn into conflicts based on historical grievances. Pursued by an Irish boy, desperately seeking his father, he finds his way out of the cycle of violence through friendship and his love of horses.

A Boy from Ireland links racial and national conflicts to those faced by any young adult, raising issues that are especially relevant today.

About the Author:

Marie Raphael is the author of the novel Streets of Gold (Persea Books, 2001). She has been a teacher in middle school, high school, and college. She lives in Redway, California.