Summary

The narrator, Jeremiah Dermod, tells the story of the Patriarch, who used to give candy to any children who could speak Irish. The narrator, a young child at the beginning of the story, goes to a grandmother who speaks some of it. He learns some phrases from her to share with the Patriarch. It turns out that the Patriarch does not speak Irish himself, but loves to hear it. The narrator grows close to the Patriarch, named Michael, and his housemaid Ellen. Time passes, and he becomes involved in the rebellion as a young teenager when the Patriarch is arrested briefly, but a peace treaty is signed several years later and Dermod and the Patriarch part company for a time.

The fighting resumes and Dermod goes back to the Patriarch’s house. Ellen is furious with the Patriarch over his support of the young rebels and...