Indy and Remy have left Mexico and are en route to London, where they plan to sign up for the Belgian army. They have stowed away on a ship but were discovered and now work as deckhands.
They arrive in Ireland and make plans to save up enough money for the ferry to London. They begin working at a pub, with Indy serving drinks and the two washing dishes. While Indy carries a tray of drinks, a scuffle breaks out, but he deftly moves around the combatants, not spilling a drop. He strikes up a conversation with one of the regulars about the Fenians, or Irish Republicans. They’re rebels seeking an independent Irish republic.
Later, he and Remy sort out coins for groceries, but with the money in his pocket, Indy is distracted by seeing a couple of ladies in a pastry shop. He goes inside and is seated at an occupied table, where he meets Maggie Lemass, her brother Sean, and her friend Nuala. Because he mentioned his many travels, the women assume him to be a millionaire and order cakes and tea, and he realizes the grocery money has just been spent in this pastry shop. But he doesn’t dispel them of their illusions.
Sean perks up when Indy mentions Mexico and the revolution, and asks about the revolutionaries’ aims. Indy says land mostly, but Lemass adds that it must have also been about freedom.
After they leave the pastry shop, they see a group of men marching down the street. Maggie explains to Indy that they’re Fenians, and no one takes them seriously, but don’t repeat that to her brother. She invites Indy to a matinee the following day, and he tells her he’ll be there. But she didn’t tell him that her brother would also be in attendance.
At his next shift at work, the regular, whose name he learns is Sean O’Casey, hears Indy humming “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” and scoffs. He invites Indy to the Abbey Theater for some real theater. There, they watch rehearsals for “Cathleen ni Houlihan,” a play written by William Butler Yeats, director of the Abbey. Yeats watches the performance and provides direction, and then he sees O’Casey and tells him he wishes to discuss the play O’Casey wrote. The feedback is not completely critical, but Yeats tells him it’s not right for the Abbey. Passionate and fiery-tempered, O’Casey is in favor of a socialist Ireland, and he wants his plays to represent real life, not fairies or legends or symbolism.
Back at the pub, when he sees him working, Maggie’s brother realizes Indy isn’t a millionaire. Lemass and O’Casey are there discussing Ireland’s future, but O’Casey wants no part in whatever Lemass has planned.
Lemass and Indy join the ladies for swimming the following day. Lemass asks Indy why he wants to join the Belgian army, and tells him that’s the wrong war. But Indy asks him, is swearing allegiance to a British king really that bad? Lemass says, “You’re an American, and you can ask me that?” Touche. Indy and Sean argue, and Sean makes his sister leave the pool and tells Indy to “stay away from my sister, or you’ll get a poke in the eye!”
Indy ignores the warning, but after a day spent with Maggie and Nuala constantly talking and gossiping and window-shopping, Indy has had enough. He divulges that he’s not a millionaire and works at the pub, and Maggie tells him she’ll not see him again. Indy doesn’t seem to care, but her brother sees him talking to Maggie and later challenges Indy to a fight. Lemass tells Indy again to stay away from his sister, but Indy says he wouldn’t see her again if Lemass paid him. So then Lemass wants to know why his sister isn’t good enough for Indy.
They start tossing bags of flour at each other, but, covered in it moments later, they’ve forgotten what the fight was about. Over a pint later, Indy apologizes for what he said about Maggie, but her brother acknowledges that he’s had to listen to her chatter all his life. Now fast friends, Indy and Lemass bike across the countryside and watch sports together.
But soon Indy and Remy have money for their ferry tickets, and they prepare to leave for London. As they walk down the street with Nuala, however, they notice a commotion at the General Post Office. There, a man named Patrick Pearse reads aloud the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. Then, the group barricades themselves inside the post office. Maggie begs her brother not to join the group, but he pushes her away and leaves.
With fighting erupting between the rebels and the British, Maggie, Remy, and Indy take cover at the pub. They remain there for an indeterminate amount of time while the windows are blown out and men on both sides of the battle fall. Maggie is too upset to eat, but eventually the fighting stops. The Irish surrender, and the tide of public opinion turns in favor of the rebels, particularly when the firing squads begin.
Indy takes Maggie to visit her brother in jail, and, in the somber atmosphere, he bids farewell to the siblings. He and Remy are soon heading to the docks to board the ferry to London. Sean O’Casey arrives to bid them farewell, and to say that Ireland will be different if they ever return. Indy and Remy board the ferry and reflect upon their visit as they prepare to join the war.
Thoughts
This has always been one of my favorite episodes, all the dearer to me because it aired after the cancellation of the show. But also because I always wanted to travel to Ireland, and when I got a passport, I made plans for the trip. To prepare, I rewatched the episode and identified the filming locations, ultimately visiting the General Post Office as well as Trinity College and the campanile in Dublin, where Indy, Maggie, and Nuala take a walk. It was not the last time I was to visit an Indiana Jones filming location, since I also tracked down the “library” façade in Venice from The Last Crusade.
I also often quoted Sean Lemass screaming at Indy “Stay away from my sister, or you get a poke in the eye!” because it was on the next week on the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles teaser, and I thought it was a funny line.
And I took an Irish literature class in college, already feeling somewhat acquainted with some of the great Irish writers. The poetry of Yeats remains a favorite.
Related DVD Documentaries
- Easter Rising – The Poets’ Rebellion
- The Passions of William Butler Yeats
- Sean O’Casey vs. Ireland
- Ireland – The Power of the Poets
History
William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) Irish poet, dramatist, and politician. Helped found Abbey Theatre. Served two terms as a senator. In 1923, won Nobel Prize for Literature. Among his works are poems “Leda and the Swan,” “The Second Coming,” (in which the line “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;” appears), and “Easter 1916.”
Seán O’Casey (1880–1964) Socialist Irish dramatist and memoirist. Wrote about Irish working class. First play, The Shadow of the Gunman, was performed in 1923 at Abbey Theatre
Seán Lemass (1899–1971) Does not appear to have had a sister named Maggie, though he did have six siblings. Released from prison after the Easter Rising due to his young age. Assassinated a British court-martial officer on Bloody Sunday in 1920. Taoiseach (Prime Minister) 1959–1966. Regarded as father of modern Ireland.
Fun Facts
John Lynch (Sean O’Casey) has most recently appeared in Blue Lights and also appeared in Medici, Harlots, The Fall, and many films and television series.
Conleth Hill (Irish Tenor) was Lord Varys on Game of Thrones.
