Philadelphia, Here I Come!
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Episode I Episode II Episode III, Part One Episode III, Part Two
Themes
All Themes Communication and Affection New Beginnings and Emotional Escapism Memory, Nostalgia, and The Past Public Life, Private Life, and Identity
Quotes
Characters
All Characters Public Gar (Gareth O’Donnell) Private Gar (Gareth O’Donnell) S.B. O’Donnell (Screwballs) Maire O’Donnell Madge Kate Doogan Dr. Francis King Senator Doogan Lizzy (Elise) Sweeney Con Sweeney Ben Burton Master Boyle Canon Mick O’Byrne Ned Tom Joe
Symbols
All Symbols The Queen of France “Philadelphia, Here I Come”
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Philadelphia, Here I Come!

by

Brian Friel
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Canon Mick O’Byrne Character Analysis

Canon O’Byrne is the head of the school that Gar used to attend as a child, and Master Boyle’s boss. When Boyle visits Gar on the last night before he leaves for the United States, he tells him that Canon O’Byrne wants to fire him, though he says that the Canon can’t do this because the rest of the institution is on Boyle’s side. As for the Canon himself, he is good friends with S.B., since he comes over every night to play a calm game of chess, betting small amounts of money that each man knows will continue to bounce back and forth between themselves. When Canon O’Byrne plays chess with S.B. on the night before Gar leaves, Private Gar predicts nearly everything the man says, adding to the sense of unbearable monotony that bothers him so much about living at home.

Canon Mick O’Byrne Quotes in Philadelphia, Here I Come!

The Philadelphia, Here I Come! quotes below are all either spoken by Canon Mick O’Byrne or refer to Canon Mick O’Byrne. 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:
Communication and Affection Theme Icon
).
Episode III, Part One Quotes

[…] there’s an affinity between Screwballs and me that no one, literally, no one could understand—except you, Canon (deadly serious), because you’re warm and kind and soft and sympathetic—all things to all men—because you could translate all this loneliness, this groping, this dreadful bloody buffoonery into Christian terms that will make life bearable for us all. And yet you don’t say a word.

Related Characters: Private Gar (Gareth O’Donnell) (speaker), Public Gar (Gareth O’Donnell), S.B. O’Donnell (Screwballs), Canon Mick O’Byrne
Communication and Affection Theme Icon
Public Life, Private Life, and Identity Theme Icon
Page Number: 82
Explanation and Analysis:
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Canon Mick O’Byrne Quotes in Philadelphia, Here I Come!

The Philadelphia, Here I Come! quotes below are all either spoken by Canon Mick O’Byrne or refer to Canon Mick O’Byrne. 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:
Communication and Affection Theme Icon
).
Episode III, Part One Quotes

[…] there’s an affinity between Screwballs and me that no one, literally, no one could understand—except you, Canon (deadly serious), because you’re warm and kind and soft and sympathetic—all things to all men—because you could translate all this loneliness, this groping, this dreadful bloody buffoonery into Christian terms that will make life bearable for us all. And yet you don’t say a word.

Related Characters: Private Gar (Gareth O’Donnell) (speaker), Public Gar (Gareth O’Donnell), S.B. O’Donnell (Screwballs), Canon Mick O’Byrne
Communication and Affection Theme Icon
Public Life, Private Life, and Identity Theme Icon
Page Number: 82
Explanation and Analysis:
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