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ONLY THE RIVER RUNS FREE
BODIE & BROCK THOENE
Only the River Runs Free is an action packed story of Ireland in the 1830s and 40s. It was a time when English landlords held power over Irish tenant farmers and seeds of bitterness were sown that would last for generations.
In an endeavor to eliminate all influences of Irish heritage, the English forced an intellectual and spiritual bondage on Ireland, as well, as a bitter physical bondage of servititde, Freedom had become so rare that the Irish coined a saying, "In Ireland only the rivers run free."
Freedom is indeed a rare commodity in the village of Ballynockanor. Since the death of the hereditary descendent of the family Burke and the mysterious disappear ance of his only son, the tenant farmers have lived under the callous cruelty and grinding oppression of a greedy English landlord. In this dark time in Ireland's history the inhabitants of the poverty stricken village feel little hope for the future.
Yet one poor befuddled old woman speaks of freedom, truth, and hope. Mad Molly Fahey promises the priest and villagers that a miracle is on its way to the beleaguered Ballynockanor. She says, "A secret miracle, Father, but a miracle it will be, never doubt." And on Christmas Eve, when a stranger crosses the frozen river and enters the village, a chain of events begins that will forever change the lives of those who live in Ballynockanor.
As events unfold, the once beautiful widow Kate Donovan Garrity begins to feel hope in spite of her anger and doubts. Is this another chance to love - or another chance to have her heart broken? Willful and sensuous young Brigit, who longs to be a heroine and grand lady, believes she has found a way to make peace between village and lord. Can her dream come true - or is she only building castles in the air?
When tragedy strikes and anger turns into violence, Kate and the villagers are plunged into a struggle for freedom that could end in the destruction of their entire way of fife. As the conflict intensifies, the stranger named Joseph must find a way to redeem the past and set an old wrong right.
Set in a place and time in Ireland's history affecting the age in which we now live, Only the River Runs Free is the story of a passionate people which shows the roots of the troubles that brought so many Irish to the shores of America - and which continue to plague England and Ireland today.
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