Annie/Anne Gallagher is a New York native of Irish heritage. She was raised by her Irish grandfather Eoin and grew up to be a best-selling author. When Eoin dies from cancer, Annie goes to Ireland for the first time to scatter his ashes on Lough Gill when a portal through time, brings her to 1921. In the past, her grandfather is a child, and Annie pretends to be Anne, Eoin’s mother. She both propels and preserves history by reciting traditional stories, songs, and poems to child Eoin, who will one day grow up and repeat these stories to his granddaughter Annie. Annie embodies the cyclical nature of history and represents the Irish American diaspora’s role in preserving culture. Annie is a passionate reader of history and the gift of experiencing that history helps her uncover the harsh realities of the past that she once romanticized.

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