Character Relationship Map: Small Things Like These

Characters

• Bill Furlong (played by Cillian Murphy) — protagonist

  Bill Furlong is a fair and hardworking coal merchant in New Ross, a husband to Eileen and father of five girls. His deliveries to the convent expose him to Sarah's imprisonment and the laundry's abuse...

• Sister Mary (played by Emily Watson) — protagonist

  Sister Mary is the convent's Mother Superior and the principal authority confronting Bill. After Sarah is found in the coal shed, she pressures Bill to remain silent by invoking his family's connectio...

• Mrs. Wilson (played by Michelle Fairley) — supporting

  Mrs. Wilson is a wealthy and independent landowner who gave Bill's ostracized young mother permission to work on her estate. Her household provided Bill with an important measure of security during hi...

• Sarah Redmond (played by Zara Devlin) — supporting

  Sarah Redmond is a teenage girl confined by the convent after becoming pregnant. Bill finds her locked in the coal shed in freezing conditions, where she says she will give birth in five months. Press...

• Sarah's Mother (played by Sarah Morris) — minor
• Sarah's Father (played by Cillian O'Gairbhi) — minor
• Mrs. Kehoe (played by Helen Behan) — supporting

  Mrs. Kehoe is the owner of the local pub and a member of the community surrounding Bill. When Bill is troubled by what he has witnessed at the convent, she advises him to toe the line and remain silen...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Sarah's Father → Sarah Redmond (father)
• Sarah's Mother → Sarah Redmond (mother)
• Mrs. Kehoe → Sister Mary (Power Indirect Institutional Deference) — The convent's authority affects how community members advise Bill to behave.

  Mrs. Kehoe's warning is based on the nuns' strong social influence in the town.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Bill Furlong → Mrs. Kehoe (Social Community Acquaintance) — They are connected through the local social life of New Ross.

  Bill visits the local pub owned by Mrs. Kehoe.

• Bill Furlong → Mrs. Wilson (Social Childhood Benefactor) — Mrs. Wilson is connected to the support that enabled Bill's mother to survive.

  Bill remembers that his ostracized young mother was permitted to work for Mrs. Wilson, a wealthy and independent landowner.

• Bill Furlong → Sister Mary (Conflict Moral Adversary) — Bill's moral decision to help the girl directly opposes Sister Mary's protection of the convent's system.

  Bill discovers a girl locked in the convent coal shed, while Sister Mary pressures him to remain silent about what he has seen.

Story Analysis

A coal merchant confronts a powerful convent and chooses compassion over silence after witnessing the suffering hidden behind its doors.

Plot Progression

1. A Town Built On Silence — Bill's routine coal deliveries introduce New Ross and the convent's presence in local life. Seeing a girl forcibly admitted awakens memories of poverty, exclusion, and his mother's dependence on outsi...
2. Behind The Convent Doors — Bill witnesses girls doing exhausting laundry work and hears a desperate request for help. He later finds a pregnant girl locked in the freezing coal shed, forcing him to confront the convent's hidden...
3. The Price Of Silence — Sister Mary threatens Bill's family indirectly through the convent's influence and offers him cash in a Christmas card. Bill carries the secret home, where his silence becomes increasingly difficult t...
4. Choosing To Intervene — Mrs. Kehoe warns Bill to conform, but his memories and conscience push him toward action. He returns to the convent and opens the coal shed despite the social risks.
5. A Door Into Safety — Bill leads the girl away in public, carries her home, and offers her safety at his family hearth. The closing dedication connects this act to the wider history of Magdalene laundries.