# Father Giles of Ballymoy explained — Short Fiction > Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Anthony Trollope. ## What happens The narrator, Archibald Green, recounts his first visit to the small Irish town of Ballymoy nearly thirty years prior. Arriving tired and cold on a rainy April evening, he insists on staying at Pat Kirwan's hotel despite warnings about Father Giles. After a series of misunderstandings, he accidentally injures Father Giles, leading to his arrest by the police. However, Father Giles recovers and shows no ill will, even inviting the narrator to breakfast. The chapter highlights the narrator's initial fear of Irish lawlessness and his eventual reconciliation with the community through Father Giles's kindness. ## Themes in this chapter ### Travel and Cultural Encounter The narrator's journey to Ballymoy and his initial fear of Irish lawlessness highlight the clash between English and Irish cultures. ### Morality and Hypocrisy Father Giles's forgiveness contrasts with the narrator's prejudiced assumptions, exposing hypocrisy in the narrator's views. ## Character check-ins ### Larry Kirwan Mentioned as the keeper of the other hotel in Ballymoy, which the narrator is warned against. ### Patrick Regan Referred to as 'Pat Kirwan,' the hotel keeper whose establishment the narrator chooses. ## Key lines > It is nearly thirty years since I, Archibald Green, first entered the little town of Ballymoy, in the west of Ireland, and became acquainted with one of the honestest fellows and best Christians whom it has ever been my good fortune to know. About thirty years ago, Archibald Green visited Ballymoy and met a remarkably honest and good Christian man. _Opening lines establishing the narrator's retrospective tone and admiration for Father Giles._ > The population of Ballymoy was its second wonder. There had been no famine then; no rot among the potatoes; and land around Ballymoy had been let for nine, ten, and even eleven pounds an acre. The people of Ballymoy were remarkable; before the famine, potatoes thrived and land rents were high. _Historical context of pre-Famine prosperity in Ireland._ > I had made the journey down from Dublin in a night and a day, travelling, as we then did travel in Ireland, by canal boats and by Bianconi’s long cars; and I had dined at Tuam, and been driven over, after dinner on an April evening; and when I reached Ballymoy I was tired to death and very cold. The narrator traveled from Dublin via canal boat and Bianconi's car, arriving in Ballymoy exhausted and cold on an April evening. _Description of mid-19th century Irish travel methods._ > Against Father Giles, of course, I had no feeling of bitterness. He had behaved well throughout, and I was quite alive to the fact that the light of his countenance would afford me a better aegis against the ill-will of the people of Ballymoy, than anything the law would do for me. The narrator bore no grudge against Father Giles, recognizing that the priest's goodwill was more protective than legal measures. _The narrator's realization of Father Giles's influence and moral authority._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_4_se/chapters/father-giles-of-ballymoy - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_4_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_4_se/chapters