Plot summary - CCEADetailed plot summary

The play is performed in three episodes with intervals between each one. It is set in the O’Donnell household. Gar lives here with his father, S.B., who is also his boss.

Episode I

The opening stage directions inform us there are two Gars who present “two views of the one man”.

Gar Private is the alter ego who speaks the thoughts, opinions and dreams of Gar Public.

Gar Private is invisible to the other characters and only heard by Gar Public and the audience.

Gar Public, however, never sees or looks at Gar Private. As Friel writes in the stage directions, “One cannot look at one’s alter ego.”

Cheerful optimism

The cheerful banter between Gar and the housekeeper Madge - the first two characters on stage - show that Gar is very close to Madge. But there are hints right from the beginning that he does not enjoy such a close relationship with his father, who is also his boss in the family-run dry goods store.

At the beginning of the play Gar seems delighted to be leaving for Philadelphia.

Flashback to Katie

In this episode we see the first flashback scene. Gar thinks back to an encounter with his now lost love “darling Katie Doogan” and her father, Senator Doogan.

Kate and Gar discuss how they will get married, but the scene ends with Gar losing his nerve and leaving before asking the Senator’s permission for Kate’s hand in marriage.

It was clear to Gar that Senator Doogan did not think he was good enough for Kate.

Boyle visits

Master Boyle - a teacher from the local school - visits to say goodbye.

Boyle is portrayed as a self-involved alcoholic, but he comes across as a sympathetic man. Like Gar, he has had only failure and disappointment in his life and in Ballybeg.

Episode I concludes with Gar experiencing a rush of sentimentality as Boyle leaves and Madge re-enters the room.

Like many of the characters we have met so far, Gar tries to repress his real feelings and finds truthful communication difficult.