While sitting in the Committee Room with his fellow canvassers by the fire, Henchy jokes about becoming a “City Father,” or a leader in Dublin politics. He and the other men sardonically envision such a situation, using verbal irony in the process:
– By God! I’m thinking seriously of becoming a City Father myself. What do you think? Would I do for the job?
Mr O’Connor laughed.
[…]
– Driving out of the Mansion House, said Mr Henchy, in all my vermin, with Jack here standing up behind me in a powdered wig – eh?
– And make me your private secretary, John.
– Yes. And I’ll make Father Keon my private chaplain. We’ll have a family party.
This whole conversation is an example of verbal irony, as none of the men are earnestly envisioning a situation in which Henchy would be a City Father, Old Jack his valet, O’Connor his secretary, or Father Keon his “private chaplain.” The men are clearly being sarcastic when they envision Henchy traveling to and from the “Mansion House,” or the home where the Lord Mayor of Dublin lives.
The verbal irony here communicates the Nationalist Party canvassers’ cynicism. Rather than envisioning a future in which Dublin politics are free from corruption, they imagine a scenario in which they are the beneficiaries of said corruption, reveling in luxury and power. While they are clearly joking, their lack of moral and political integrity is also on display.
