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First Confession
Do your students enjoy a good laugh? Do they like to be scared? Or do they just like a book with a happy ending? No matter what their taste, our Creative Short Stories series has the answer.
We've taken some of the world's best stories from dark, musty anthologies and brought them into the light, giving them the individual attention they deserve. Each book in the series has been designed with today's young reader in mind. As the words come to life, students will develop a lasting appreciation for great literature.
The humor of Mark Twain...the suspense of Edgar Allan Poe...the danger of Jack London...the sensitivity of Katherine Mansfield. Creative Short Stories has it all and will prove to be a welcome addition to any library.
31 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1990
3 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
About the author
Frank O'Connor
164 books130 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
Frank O’Connor (born Michael Francis O'Connor O'Donovan) was an Irish author of over 150 works, who was best known for his short stories and memoirs. Raised an only child in Cork, Ireland, to Minnie O'Connor and Michael O'Donovan, his early life was marked by his father's alcoholism, indebtness and ill-treatment of his mother.
He was perhaps Ireland's most complete man of letters, best known for his varied and comprehensive short stories but also for his work as a literary critic, essayist, travel writer, translator and biographer.[5] He was also a novelist, poet and dramatist.[6]
From the 1930s to the 1960s he was a prolific writer of short stories, poems, plays, and novellas. His work as an Irish teacher complemented his plethora of translations into English of Irish poetry, including his initially banned translation of Brian Merriman's Cúirt an Mheán Oíche ("The Midnight Court"). Many of O'Connor's writings were based on his own life experiences — his character Larry Delaney in particular. O'Connor's experiences in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War are reflected in The Big Fellow, his biography of Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins, published in 1937, and one of his best-known short stories, Guests of the Nation (1931), published in various forms during O'Connor's lifetime and included in Frank O'Connor — Collected Stories, published in 1981.
O'Connor's early years are recounted in An Only Child, a memoir published in 1961 but which has the immediacy of a precocious diary. U.S. President John F. Kennedy quoted from An Only Child in his remarks introducing the American commitment to land a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Kennedy described the long walks O'Connor would take with his friends and how, when they came to a wall that seemed too formidable to climb over, they would throw their caps over the wall so they would be forced to scale the wall after them. Kennedy concluded, "This nation has tossed its cap over the wall of space and we have no choice but to follow it."[7] O'Connor continued his autobiography through his time with the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, which ended in 1939, in his book, My Father's Son, which was published in 1968, after O'Connor's death.
Frank O’Connor (born Michael Francis O'Connor O'Donovan) was an Irish author of over 150 works, who was best known for his short stories and memoirs. Raised an only child in Cork, Ireland, to Minnie O'Connor and Michael O'Donovan, his early life was marked by his father's alcoholism, indebtness and ill-treatment of his mother.
He was perhaps Ireland's most complete man of letters, best known for his varied and comprehensive short stories but also for his work as a literary critic, essayist, travel writer, translator and biographer.[5] He was also a novelist, poet and dramatist.[6]
From the 1930s to the 1960s he was a prolific writer of short stories, poems, plays, and novellas. His work as an Irish teacher complemented his plethora of translations into English of Irish poetry, including his initially banned translation of Brian Merriman's Cúirt an Mheán Oíche ("The Midnight Court"). Many of O'Connor's writings were based on his own life experiences — his character Larry Delaney in particular. O'Connor's experiences in the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War are reflected in The Big Fellow, his biography of Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins, published in 1937, and one of his best-known short stories, Guests of the Nation (1931), published in various forms during O'Connor's lifetime and included in Frank O'Connor — Collected Stories, published in 1981.
O'Connor's early years are recounted in An Only Child, a memoir published in 1961 but which has the immediacy of a precocious diary. U.S. President John F. Kennedy quoted from An Only Child in his remarks introducing the American commitment to land a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Kennedy described the long walks O'Connor would take with his friends and how, when they came to a wall that seemed too formidable to climb over, they would throw their caps over the wall so they would be forced to scale the wall after them. Kennedy concluded, "This nation has tossed its cap over the wall of space and we have no choice but to follow it."[7] O'Connor continued his autobiography through his time with the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, which ended in 1939, in his book, My Father's Son, which was published in 1968, after O'Connor's death.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 1, 2025
"I might just as well be a sinner like you"
Isn't that a great ending line? Twas for me!
Isn't that a great ending line? Twas for me!
April 28, 2020
#abrilcontosmil
"Then, to crown my misfortunes, I had to make my first confession and communion. It was an old woman called Ryan who prepared us for these (...) and came every day to school at three o'clock when we should have been going home, and talked to us of hell. She may have mentioned the other place as well, but that could only have been by accident, for hell had the first place in her heart."
Na senda de conhecer mais autores de contos, encontrei este de Frank O’Connor, um escritor que antes de se tornar professor e tradutor passou pelo IRA durante a Guerra da Independência da Irlanda. Em “First Confession”, o endiabrado Jack de sete anos tem de se confessar pela primeira vez antes de fazer a Primeira Comunhão, temendo o inferno por não gostar da avó, que prefere a sua irmã Nora, a quem ele atacou com a faca da manteiga. Hilariante e adorável.
"Oh," he said respectfully, "a big hefty fellow like you must have terrible sins. Is this your first?"
'Tis, father," said I.
"Worse and worse," he said gloomily. "The crimes of a lifetime. I don't know will I get rid of you at all today. You'd better wait now till I'm finished with these old ones. You can see by the looks of them they haven't much to tell."
"Then, to crown my misfortunes, I had to make my first confession and communion. It was an old woman called Ryan who prepared us for these (...) and came every day to school at three o'clock when we should have been going home, and talked to us of hell. She may have mentioned the other place as well, but that could only have been by accident, for hell had the first place in her heart."
Na senda de conhecer mais autores de contos, encontrei este de Frank O’Connor, um escritor que antes de se tornar professor e tradutor passou pelo IRA durante a Guerra da Independência da Irlanda. Em “First Confession”, o endiabrado Jack de sete anos tem de se confessar pela primeira vez antes de fazer a Primeira Comunhão, temendo o inferno por não gostar da avó, que prefere a sua irmã Nora, a quem ele atacou com a faca da manteiga. Hilariante e adorável.
"Oh," he said respectfully, "a big hefty fellow like you must have terrible sins. Is this your first?"
'Tis, father," said I.
"Worse and worse," he said gloomily. "The crimes of a lifetime. I don't know will I get rid of you at all today. You'd better wait now till I'm finished with these old ones. You can see by the looks of them they haven't much to tell."
March 9, 2025
I might just as well be a sinner like you.
May 13, 2013
A boy of seven confessing for the first time, telling the priest he had planned to kill his grandmother then chop her body to pieces to hide it and the priest telling him, in turn, that he had wanted some people killed too by hanging. They became friends, to the consternation of the boy's sister who loved torturing him.
It is so funny. It just became macabre-sounding only because I am not Frank O'Connor who managed to look back at his miserable childhood and create humor out of it.
I had no similar recollection of my first confession, when I was about that same age, but I could never forget my first communion which came shortly thereafter. As soon as the host was inside my mouth I clamped my mouth shut, assumed a holy mien, walked towards my designated place, knelt down and tried to concentrate in praying. Since I was made to believe that what was melting inside my mouth was Christ's body I didn't chew, bite or swallow it. I just let it there, flooded by my saliva, transformed into a tasteless, gooey mush to which I had a particular aversion to. It reached the point when I felt like throwing up already, but I couldn't scatter Christ on the church's marble floor! So summoned all my strength and will, tearing up in both eyes, and began a countdown. One, two, three...and I swallowed.
It is so funny. It just became macabre-sounding only because I am not Frank O'Connor who managed to look back at his miserable childhood and create humor out of it.
I had no similar recollection of my first confession, when I was about that same age, but I could never forget my first communion which came shortly thereafter. As soon as the host was inside my mouth I clamped my mouth shut, assumed a holy mien, walked towards my designated place, knelt down and tried to concentrate in praying. Since I was made to believe that what was melting inside my mouth was Christ's body I didn't chew, bite or swallow it. I just let it there, flooded by my saliva, transformed into a tasteless, gooey mush to which I had a particular aversion to. It reached the point when I felt like throwing up already, but I couldn't scatter Christ on the church's marble floor! So summoned all my strength and will, tearing up in both eyes, and began a countdown. One, two, three...and I swallowed.
December 11, 2024
A very interesting and fun short story to do with first years. It is very much a Catholic religious story so some background context may be needed for non Irish or non Catholic students but very relatable otherwise with a fun protagonist.
April 14, 2024
2/5
I liked the writing style, but the story didn’t interest me and honestly, I didn’t understand it either. The story is about a boy who has to make his first confession to a priest.
I liked the writing style, but the story didn’t interest me and honestly, I didn’t understand it either. The story is about a boy who has to make his first confession to a priest.
September 14, 2012
I first came across this short story in a book called Sunlight & Shadows, which is a book I first read in high school. Although this story was not part of the curriculum (we only read selections) something about it struck me, and I read it on my own. I immediately loved it! :)
The author perfectly captures the mind of a 7 year old child, the enormity of their problems (from their perspective) and the dread of confessing one's sins for the first time.
I enjoyed this short story so much, I reread it twice, and now I'll try to find some other stories by Frank O'Connor and give those a try.
This story made me laugh as it reminded me of my own childhood, and what could be better than that? :)
The author perfectly captures the mind of a 7 year old child, the enormity of their problems (from their perspective) and the dread of confessing one's sins for the first time.
I enjoyed this short story so much, I reread it twice, and now I'll try to find some other stories by Frank O'Connor and give those a try.
This story made me laugh as it reminded me of my own childhood, and what could be better than that? :)
August 19, 2011
I actually read this book with my summer school class and we had to do a sort of like "fish bowl" discussion about it. I had to read it various times and trust me, I never got tired of reading it over and over again. The moment I read it I just loved all the inference that made it really unique and fresh.
Read
February 28, 2014Katie & I read this short story, excellent read although times have changed, Katie asked me what was hell? And why would the little boy want to murder his granny? Language and storytelling is amazing and we laughed together as we read the story together.
July 27, 2023
Frank O'Connor's "First Confession" is a brilliant collection of short stories capturing the essence of Irish life. With wit, humor, and poignant reflections, O'Connor crafts a literary gem that resonates deeply with the human experience.
December 23, 2011
For a short story, this is a great one. Funny, vividly detailed, and full of emotions we can all relate to. I'm glad I was made to read it :-)
December 31, 2015
One of my favourite short stories.
October 18, 2020
What a fantastic story. I have not yet read an O'Connor story I did not enjoy. This classic is told with such wit. O'Connor is rapidly becoming one of my favorite short story writers.
O'Connor has so many wry and telling lines, such as his description of the woman who came to prepare them for communion:
She "came every day to school at three o'clock when we should have been going home, and talked to us of hell. She may have mentioned the other place as well, but that could only have been by accident, for hell had the first place in her heart."
And then when he describes how his sister terrified him as she took him to his first confession but then:
"she walked up the aisle to the side altar looking like a saint. You never saw such an exhibition of devotion; and I remembered the devilish malice with which she had tormented me all the way from our door, and wondered were all religious people like that, really."
This one also has some slapstick. The boy thinks he must kneel on what is actually a place to rest one's elbows inside the confession box.
The boy confesses everything - that he wants to kill his grandmother and went at his sister with a butter knife, but he missed. If that's the sister that was beating you, someday somebody else will and he won't miss, the Priest says. Turns out the Priest is perfectly understanding of the 7 year old's "sins of a lifetime," lets him go with 3 hail Mary's and gives him candy. His sister at the end exclaims:
"Lord God," she wailed bitterly, "some people have all the luck! 'Tis no advantage to anybody trying to be good. I might just as well be a sinner like you."
O'Connor has so many wry and telling lines, such as his description of the woman who came to prepare them for communion:
She "came every day to school at three o'clock when we should have been going home, and talked to us of hell. She may have mentioned the other place as well, but that could only have been by accident, for hell had the first place in her heart."
And then when he describes how his sister terrified him as she took him to his first confession but then:
"she walked up the aisle to the side altar looking like a saint. You never saw such an exhibition of devotion; and I remembered the devilish malice with which she had tormented me all the way from our door, and wondered were all religious people like that, really."
This one also has some slapstick. The boy thinks he must kneel on what is actually a place to rest one's elbows inside the confession box.
The boy confesses everything - that he wants to kill his grandmother and went at his sister with a butter knife, but he missed. If that's the sister that was beating you, someday somebody else will and he won't miss, the Priest says. Turns out the Priest is perfectly understanding of the 7 year old's "sins of a lifetime," lets him go with 3 hail Mary's and gives him candy. His sister at the end exclaims:
"Lord God," she wailed bitterly, "some people have all the luck! 'Tis no advantage to anybody trying to be good. I might just as well be a sinner like you."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2019
A wonderfully kind look back on his younger self. I LOVE this story by Frank O'Connor. From a POV stance, it's intoxicating. The narrator is I-now telling his own story of "I-then." Take away? We should look back with humor and tenderness at our younger, more naive selves as self-therapy.
March 16, 2022
This little story about a young boy preparing for his first confession gave me a real good chuckle. Recommended by my boss. I'm sure that it will be funnier for Catholics than for other readers, as we've been to confession, but all the same, an amusing romp.
August 1, 2017
This is a short story that's printed as a book. Totally entertaining, funny, and sweet. It's only 31 pages, so it won't take you long to read it!
December 16, 2018
Hilarious #shortstory - a detached autobiography.
Shows that the narrator is analysing events from the past, not just recounting them.
Loved it, giggled throughout.
Shows that the narrator is analysing events from the past, not just recounting them.
Loved it, giggled throughout.
March 27, 2019
A brilliant and charming short story that completely captures the experience of a first confession in the Catholic Church. Perhaps it's time again for me to experience the sacrament of penance!
June 30, 2020
Good job
November 14, 2021
A sweet short story..
May 3, 2022
I, too, would like to kill your grandma and Nora, little Jackie.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 7, 2025
i love ireland
September 18, 2025
This short story is hilariously funny on a first read, but deeply sad when you think about Jackie’s situation. I really enjoyed it!
February 28, 2017
3.8 stars
This was a really intriguing short story. I think it's sweet how the priest helped the boy come to a better understanding of the love and grace of God. It was unfortunate that before then, the people around him were mostly self-righteous, judgmental, and seemed more fixated on the idea of hell than anything else. This story stands up over multiple readings and continues to reveal its layers.
This was a really intriguing short story. I think it's sweet how the priest helped the boy come to a better understanding of the love and grace of God. It was unfortunate that before then, the people around him were mostly self-righteous, judgmental, and seemed more fixated on the idea of hell than anything else. This story stands up over multiple readings and continues to reveal its layers.
October 29, 2016
A friend lent me her book and I really enjoyed this little gem.
The book is very nice too.
I have to read more of Frank O'Connor's work!
The book is very nice too.
I have to read more of Frank O'Connor's work!
May 3, 2018
Such a cute story! This is about a boy who is terrified to have his first confession because of his family and teachers input on what will happen. Me, not having siblings, think its very humorous how to mean they can be towards each other but I'm sure it's very reliable. This is a good book for children because of how it shows that no one's thoughts are completely pure but it doesn't mean they are bad people. The whole experience of this story is very humorous and how the boy feels about some of his family members is very relatable. Very good read and super cute end!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews