Maire O’Donnell Character Analysis

Although Maire, Gar’s mother, never appears onstage, her presence looms large in Philadelphia, Here I Come!, since Public Gar and Private Gar frequently think about what life would have been like if she hadn’t died three days after giving birth to Gar. When Gar thinks about what Madge has told him about his mother, he tries to distract himself from the subject by singing or reciting an old speech about the Queen of France. Still, he can’t help but imagine her, especially when his aunt Lizzy visits Ballybeg from the United States. Everyone says that Lizzy and Maire were always alike with their boisterous and uproarious personalities and sharp wit. For this reason, Gar is especially enticed by the idea of moving to Philadelphia to live with Lizzy, finally feeling like he’ll be able to get a better sense of his mother, since his father never talks about his relationship with Maire. The only person in Gar’s everyday life who does talk about her, it seems, is Master Boyle, who had a relationship with her before she married S.B. In fact, the failure of this relationship is what drove Master Boyle to liquor, which is why he’s now an alcoholic.