Lizzy (Elise) Sweeney Character Analysis

Lizzy is one of Maire’s sisters, and Gar’s aunt. Lizzy lives in Philadelphia and is the one who suggested that Gar should move in with her and her husband, Con. A witty and animated woman, everyone says she’s very similar to Gar’s mother—a fact that appeals to Gar, since he never got to meet Maire but thinks about her often. Lizzy—who goes by Elise in America—has a good life in Philadelphia, where she lives with Con and has a good-natured and close relationship with their American friend, Ben Burton. However, the one thing missing from her life is the fact that she and Con can’t have a child, which is why she cares so much about Gar, her only nephew. In fact, she cares about him so much that she travels to Ireland with Con and Ben to visit him, eventually telling him that he’s free to come live with them if he ever wants to. Because she makes this offer on the very same day as Kate and Francis’s wedding when Gar is feeling emotionally vulnerable, he accepts, and Lizzy is overjoyed, telling him that he’ll be very happy and later arranging for him to work in a hotel once he reaches Philadelphia.