Mentioned twice briefly, Fanning is the sub-sheriff of Dublin. The party men discuss the Nationalist candidate Richard Tierney’s suspicious closeness with Fanning and suggest that Tierney buddies up to city officers to win higher office. Fanning also reveals an ugly reality about the Church’s involvement in politics. Father Keon, the story’s shady Church representative, enters the Committee Room briefly, asking for Fanning; this suggests that Fanning is in cahoots with the Nationalists and that Keon (a stand-in for the Church) has an undue closeness to the two men’s scheming.
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Fanning Character Timeline in Ivy Day in the Committee Room
The timeline below shows where the character Fanning appears in Ivy Day in the Committee Room. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Ivy Day in the Committee Room
...whether his outfit belongs to a priest or a layman. Keon is looking for Mr. Fanning, for “a little business matter.” Henchy welcomes him warmly, but Keon is skittish and refuses...
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...fire to light a cigarette. He turns to Henchy and notes Keon’s suspicious closeness to Fanning, pondering what their relationship might be. Henchy calls Keon a “black sheep.” He says Keon...
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...Mr. H,” Henchy recalls Tierney saying to him. O’Connor suspects that the alderman, Tierney, and Fanning are cooking up a deal. Henchy suggests that Tierney is buttering up Dublin’s officials, and...
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