Dubliners

In the story “Ivy Day in the Committee Room,” several of the characters wear ivy leaf brooches to commemorate Ivy Day. Ivy Day occurs in Ireland on October 6, although the day is no longer as widely observed as it once was. Both the day and the ivy leaf for which it is named symbolized the Irish Nationalist politician Charles Parnell (today, Parnell Square in Dublin is named after him). Legend states that upon Parnell’s death in 1891, a poor woman sent an ivy wreath to his grave as a token of respect. This began a movement in which the ivy leaf came to symbolize Parnell’s commitment to supporting the poor. He was particularly adamant against the British oppression that he believed to be suffocating the Irish working class. In the final years of Parnell’s life, his reputation was tarnished by a personal scandal, and he died discredited and disgraced. However, his most devout followers argued that political ideals were more important than personal failings (a dichotomy still heavily debated today). In “Ivy Day in the Committee Room,” a heated debate about politics and political leaders takes place between people wearing ivy leaves and people without, providing readers with a contextual lens for the contemporary political landscape of the stories.