What the Wind Knows

Eoin Gallagher is Annie’s grandfather and Anne’s son. Born in Ireland and having grown up during the Irish Civil War of 1922, Eoin leaves Ireland in 1933 to pursue an education and career in New York City, one of many Irish who left their country to pursue opportunity abroad. Eoin never returns to his birthplace, but by gifting Annie his family heirlooms and sending her to Ireland to scatter his ashes, he pushes Annie towards her historical destiny, thus propelling the intersection between the past, present, and future. As a child, Eoin is a joy to Annie and inspires her to stay in 1921 Ireland. This role reversal symbolizes the repetitive nature of history.

Thomas Smith is an Irish doctor who joins revolutionary forces fighting for Irish independence. He is a close family friend of the Gallaghers and spends years secretly in love with his friend Declan’s wife Anne. He saves Annie from Lough Gill and they fall in love, fulfilling Thomas’s desire for Anne while ensuring that he doesn’t betray the memory his deceased friend. Thomas becomes a father figure to Eoin, and his journals bookend each chapter, providing the reader with first-person accounts of historical events: As a close ally to Michael Collins, Thomas bears witness to the tumultuous and important moments of the early 20th century in Ireland. Thomas’s desires are fulfilled when he reunites with Annie in 2001.