Abuse at the Convent (Dramatic Irony)
In the first three chapters, before Furlong delivers coal to the convent and witnesses the abuses that take place there, the reader is aware of what happens at the convent while the townspeople rely only on rumors. Keegan includes a forward that dedicates this story "to the women and children who suffered time in Ireland’s mother and baby homes and Magdalen laundries," making it clear that they will play an important role in the book. Before Furlong knows about it, the abuse that occurs at the convent is an example of dramatic irony.
Abuse at the Convent (Verbal Irony)
The nuns in charge of the convent are called the Good Shepherd nuns. There are various shepherds in the bible, but the Good Shepherd refers specifically to Jesus Christ. This is based on a passage in the Gospel of John where Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." Jesus himself associated with prostitutes and other people on the margin of society. The nuns, on the other hand, exploit the girls and women living at the convent by using their labor to run a laundry business and keep the place spotlessly clean. The Good Shepherd nuns' treatment of the girls at the convent is an example of verbal irony.
The Mother Superior's Disparaging Comment About Foreigners (Verbal Irony)
While making pointed small talk with Furlong in Chapter Five, the Mother Superior comments that Furlong doesn't mind "bringing the foreigners in" through his work. In turn, Furlong points out that everyone has to be born somewhere, and that "Jesus was born in Bethlehem" (a place foreign to Ireland). When the Mother Superior responds that she would "hardly compare Our Lord to those fellows," her hypocrisy is an example of verbal irony.
Furlong Discovering the Identity of His Father (Situational Irony)
Throughout the novella, the unknown identity of Furlong's father plays an important role in his life. Although Furlong strives to focus on the present, his memories of growing up fatherless conjure anxieties in the present day as he comes to terms with the way that certain people in the community treated him. Not only did children at school call him names, but an adult worker at the registry office expressed condemnation.
Furlong was always led to believe that his father came from "finer stock," as he remembers Ned telling him. Thus it comes as a complete shock when a stranger points out the family resemblance between Ned and Furlong. Furlong's father was possibly there all along, and played an active role in his upbringing. This plot twist is an example of situational irony.
