Ivy Day in the Committee Room

A young, prudish canvasser with a “frail” frame and “thin” face, Bantam Lyons challenges his colleagues on the moral legacy of the late Nationalist leader Charles Stewart Parnell, whose affair cost him his party leadership. Lyons has a fussy “double collar” and a slight build, unlike many of the other men. Throughout the story, Lyons does not fit in with his colleagues. His moral objection to Parnell’s scandalous reputation ignites an an upset among the other men, especially John Henchy. The men’s short spat highlights their inability to engage with the deep moral questions that have haunted the party since their leader’s death. Though his stance on the divisive issue is perfectly valid (“Do you think now after what he did Parnell was a fit man to lead us?”), Lyons is the odd man out in a debate with ardent Parnellites. (Even the bitter, anti-Parnellian Crofton admits that Parnell was a “gentleman.”) As such, Lyons is a central force in the story’s overall discord.