Ivy Day in the Committee Room

by

James Joyce

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Ivy Day in the Committee Room makes teaching easy.

Mat O’Connor Character Analysis

Mat O’Connor—a young, lazy man with prematurely grey hair—represents the sorry state of the Nationalist Party’s youngest generation. The story opens on him loafing in an armchair in the Committee Room on an evening when he should be out canvassing for his boss, the Nationalist candidate Richard Tierney. While other party men are out working the streets, O’Connor is hiding out from the bad weather by rolling cigarettes in front of the fire and complaining that his paycheck is late. At the beginning of the story, he dips one of Tierney’s campaign flyers—which he was supposed to be distributing to voters—into the fire to light his cigarette. As the fire symbolizes Ireland’s dying Nationalist spirit, lighting his cigarette with the fire while skipping out on work shows how the party men are indifferent to the actual values of Nationalism and are instead using politics for selfish ends. Predictably, then, while O’Connor wears Charles Stewart Parnell’s commemorative ivy leaf, he is an unconvincing and morally uncommitted Nationalist: he doesn’t work for the party’s goals, and he changes his opinions about politics and his coworkers easily, showing his spinelessness. Alongside the uselessness of Ireland’s elders (represented by Jack), the young but lazy O’Connor completes the image of an Ireland that is past its political prime and lacking in promise for the future. Even his physical description emphasizes this: as a young man, O’Connor has grey hair and a blotchy face, suggesting early decline.

Mat O’Connor Quotes in Ivy Day in the Committee Room

The Ivy Day in the Committee Room quotes below are all either spoken by Mat O’Connor or refer to Mat O’Connor. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Youth and Political Paralysis Theme Icon
).
Ivy Day in the Committee Room Quotes

Mr O’Connor, a grey-haired young man, whose face was disfigured by many blotches and pimples, had just brought the tobacco for a cigarette into a shapely cylinder but when spoken to he undid his handiwork meditatively. Then he began to roll the tobacco again meditatively and after a moment’s thought decided to lick the paper.

—Did Mr Tierney say when he’d be back? he asked in a husky falsetto.

Related Characters: Mat O’Connor
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 115
Explanation and Analysis:

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

ROYAL EXCHANGE WARD

Mr Richard J. Tierney, P.L.G., respectfully solicits the favour of your vote and influence at the coming election in the Royal Exchange Ward.

Related Characters: Mat O’Connor, Richard Tierney
Related Symbols: Fire
Page Number: 116
Explanation and Analysis:
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Ivy Day in the Committee Room PDF

Mat O’Connor Quotes in Ivy Day in the Committee Room

The Ivy Day in the Committee Room quotes below are all either spoken by Mat O’Connor or refer to Mat O’Connor. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Youth and Political Paralysis Theme Icon
).
Ivy Day in the Committee Room Quotes

Mr O’Connor, a grey-haired young man, whose face was disfigured by many blotches and pimples, had just brought the tobacco for a cigarette into a shapely cylinder but when spoken to he undid his handiwork meditatively. Then he began to roll the tobacco again meditatively and after a moment’s thought decided to lick the paper.

—Did Mr Tierney say when he’d be back? he asked in a husky falsetto.

Related Characters: Mat O’Connor
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 115
Explanation and Analysis:

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

ROYAL EXCHANGE WARD

Mr Richard J. Tierney, P.L.G., respectfully solicits the favour of your vote and influence at the coming election in the Royal Exchange Ward.

Related Characters: Mat O’Connor, Richard Tierney
Related Symbols: Fire
Page Number: 116
Explanation and Analysis: