Mr. Lloyd
Mr. Lloyd is the protagonist of the novel. He is an English artist visiting the small Irish island for the first time. Mr. Lloyd's primary motivation is to explore the island and paint every cliff he comes across as a symbol of his masterpiece. However, Mr. Lloyd is depicted as arrogant and impolite, but he will find a way to interact with the island locals.
Mr. Lloyd wants to have a memorable experience while traveling to the island. Therefore, he prefers to use a curragh instead of a boat with an engine. He wants to film everything on sight on his way to the highland. When he arrives, he is surprised to learn of the presence of another visitor, Masson. Masson is also unhappy when he learns that Lloyd is on the island. They argue, and they do not seem to agree on anything.
Frenchman Masson
Masson is a researcher, and for the last five years, he has been doing a thesis on the local Irish language on the island. He has invested a lot of resources to preserve the local culture, but the people on the ground do not see his significance. Masson is also disagreeable with most locals; sometimes, he gets it tough to accomplish his goals.
When Masson sees Lloyd, he is angered because he recognizes that he is an English imperialist who has come to the island to distort the local language using his paintings. Therefore, he confronts Lloyd, but they do not agree on anything.
Mairéad
Mairéad is a young widow and James’ mother. The first time she sees Lloyd, she disapproves of him and reminds him that foreigners on the island are not always welcome. However, later, Mairéad starts having a close relationship with Masson and Lloyd. She sleeps with Masson, and this fuels their relationship. Similarly, she allows Lloyd to paint her naked body on different occasions.
James
James is the son of Mairéad, and his primary activity is fishing. When his mother first disapproved of the presence of Lloyd, he had a contrary opinion because he loved his paintings and wanted him to stay. The presence of Lloyd gave James hope that he could do something else away from fishing which was becoming boring. Consequently, James wanted to escape the burden of cultural expectations that he had to live on the island forever.
Great-grandmother Bean Ui Fhloin
Bean Ui Fhloin is a long-surviving matriarch of the island. She has always believed that foreigners must not be given all the information regarding the community because that might turn out to be dangerous. According to the great-grandmother, locals must know which information they give to be recorded and the ones to preserve.
