The Informer · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for The Informer by Liam O’Flaherty.
Chapter 1
I
In a lodging house, Frankie McPhillip, a fugitive revolutionary suffering from consumption, meets with his comrade Gypo Nolan. McPhillip seeks news from home and the organization, while Gypo, having delivered messages and been expelled from the Revolutionary Organization, evades direct answers. Their tense conversation reveals McPhillip's desperation and Gypo's growing internal conflict, culminating in McPhillip's departure and Gypo's petty theft of a fellow lodger's dinner.
Chapter 2
II
Francis Joseph McPhillip is killed while attempting to escape from his father's house at 44 Titt Street, which had been surrounded by Detective-Sergeant McCartney and ten men. McPhillip wounds McCartney before falling and fatally shooting himself.
Chapter 3
Chapter III
Gypo Nolan struggles to formulate a plan and alibi after informing on McPhillip. He is interrupted by Katie Fox, a former revolutionary turned prostitute and drug addict, who senses his secret. Gypo's paranoia grows as he fears the Revolutionary Organization suspects him, and he decides to visit McPhillip's family to avoid suspicion.
Chapter 4
IV
Gypo Nolan, overwhelmed by guilt and paranoia, impulsively gives Mrs. McPhillip the silver coins from his reward, then rushes out. Mary McPhillip defends her brother Frankie's revolutionary actions against her father's criticism, and later questions Gypo about Frankie's last meeting, causing Gypo to panic when more coins fall from his pocket, drawing suspicion.
Chapter 5
V
Gypo is confronted by Bartly Mulholland, who hints at having seen Gypo's money. Gypo attacks Mulholland but is stopped by Tommy Connor. Mulholland then reveals that Commandant Dan Gallagher wants to see Gypo, and the three men go to a pub where Gallagher is waiting.
Chapter 6
VI
This chapter provides background on Commandant Dan Gallagher's rise to prominence following the farm-labourers' strike and the murder of the Farmers' Union Secretary. It includes excerpts from a hostile English aristocratic article and a favorable American revolutionary piece, as well as a secret report from an International Executive representative criticizing Gallagher's dictatorial control and deviation from Communist principles.
Chapter 7
VII
Gallagher confronts Gypo about his expulsion from the Organization. Gypo deflects blame by falsely accusing the Rat Mulligan of informing on Frankie McPhillip. Meanwhile, Gallagher visits the McPhillip home, where he comforts Mrs. McPhillip and later speaks privately with Mary, proposing she take her brother's place in the Organization amid a tense, charged encounter.
Chapter 8
Chapter VIII
Gypo Nolan, now flush with reward money, revels in the attention of the Dublin slum crowd. He treats them to a feast at an Italian chip shop, basking in their admiration. Meanwhile, Mulholland tracks him, and the chapter explores the chaotic political arguments among the poor, including a fanatic's rambling speech and a debate over the morality of McPhillip's killing. Gypo's paranoia and guilt surface when he overhears the word 'informer,' and he attempts to assert his importance by claiming friendship with Commandant Gallagher.
Chapter 9
IX
Gypo Nolan, flush with reward money, decides to indulge in a night of pleasure. He is tracked by Mulholland as he makes his way through a desolate street to a high-class brothel run by Aunt Betty. Despite the initial hostility due to his working-class appearance, Gypo's money wins over the women. He becomes fixated on a mysterious woman in a fur coat who ignores him, while the other patrons and women react with jealousy and hostility.
Chapter 10
Chapter X
Bartly Mulholland searches for Gypo Nolan, visiting Biddy Burke's kitchen and later tracking him to a brothel where he finds Gypo with Connemara Maggie. Mulholland, under orders from Commandant Dan Gallagher, forces Gypo to come with him. Gypo gives money to Maggie for Katie Fox before leaving. Meanwhile, the community reacts with suspicion and tension, and Mulholland reflects on his dedication to the revolutionary cause and the personal sacrifices it entails.
Chapter 11
Chapter XI
Gypo Nolan is interrogated by Commandant Dan Gallagher in a makeshift court, where Gallagher systematically dismantles Gypo's alibis and exposes his lies about the Rat Mulligan and his possession of money. Gypo's erratic behavior and contradictory statements lead Gallagher to publicly accuse him of being the informer who betrayed Frankie McPhillip. Gypo collapses in a fit of agony, confessing he didn't know what he was doing, and desperately begs for mercy as Gallagher prepares to execute him.
Chapter 12
XII
Gypo Nolan is formally condemned to death by the revolutionary court. Commandant Dan Gallagher orders Bartly Mulholland and three men to execute the sentence on a remote mountain road. Gallagher then informs Mary McPhillip that Gypo was the informer, but Mary, now horrified by the violence, pleads with Gallagher not to kill him, confessing her love in an attempt to stop the execution. Gallagher struggles between his passion for Mary and his revolutionary duty.
Chapter 13
XIII
After Gallagher leaves the inquiry room, Mulholland organizes a drawing of lots among three men—Hackett, Flynn, and Curley—to determine who will carry out a violent act. The men are deeply anxious and reluctant, revealing their contrasting personalities and backgrounds. Hackett is a good-natured docker who joined the Organization out of hero-worship for Gallagher, Flynn is a dour, philosophical revolutionary with a bizarre personal belief system, and Curley is a nervous, extreme Communist theorist. The drawing proceeds with tension and cowardice, ultimately assigning the short match to Hackett.
Chapter 14
XIV
Gypo Nolan, condemned and locked in a cell, feigns rest while planning an escape. Drawing on a strategy discussed with the executed Frankie McPhillip, he climbs to a stone ledge, finds an iron ring, and forces open a trapdoor covered with earth. Despite gunfire and pursuit, he fights off Dart Flynn and escapes into the night.
Chapter 15
XV
After Gypo's escape, Commandant Gallagher panics and organizes a manhunt. He then has a tense, emotional conversation with Mary McPhillip, revealing his inner turmoil, his reliance on fear to command, and his philosophical musings on death and danger. Their intimate moment is overshadowed by Gallagher's obsessive focus on the threat Gypo poses.
Chapter 16
XVI
Gypo Nolan, having escaped from the Bogey Hole, flees through the Dublin slums in a state of panic and exhaustion. He seeks sleep in Katie Fox's lodging house, where Katie rambles about her delusions of noble lineage while Gypo drifts in and out of nightmares. After a restless rest, he wanders the streets, tormented by paranoia and the memory of Gallagher's eyes, and runs wildly when he hears approaching policemen, forgetting he is now under police protection as an informer. The chapter ends with him recognizing a clock near Katie's house.
Chapter 17
XVII
Mulholland reports to Gallagher that Gypo Nolan has been found at Katie Fox's room on Mount William Crescent. Gallagher prepares to go there with Mary McPhillip, but she protests against the planned murder, leading to a confrontation where Gallagher has her restrained.
Chapter 18
XVIII
Gypo Nolan, wounded and pursued, escapes from his attackers after a violent struggle on the stairs. He makes his way to a church, where he confesses to Mrs. McPhillip that he informed on her son Frankie. She forgives him, and he dies in the church, feeling a sense of peace.
