Mr M'Coy

Mr M'Coy is a former tenor whose succession of jobs has led him from railway clerking and commission work to the office of the City Coroner. In “Grace,” his new position makes him professionally interested in Tom Kernan's case, while his place among Kernan's friends is marked by practical arrangements, social banter, and an unusually candid admission of shared misconduct.

Identity and Background

At one time, Mr M'Coy had a reputation as a tenor. His wife had been a soprano and still taught young children to play the piano for low fees, placing the couple's former musical identities alongside the modest work that supports them in the present.

His career has followed no direct route. He has been a clerk in the Midland Railway, an advertisement canvasser for The Irish Times and The Freeman's Journal, a commission-based town traveller for a coal firm, a private inquiry agent, and a clerk in the Sub-Sheriff's office. For short periods he has also had to live by his wits. His most recent appointment is secretary to the City Coroner, a position that gives his interest in Tom Kernan's condition a professional dimension.

Involvement in Kernan's Case

When Kernan describes a sickening feeling in his throat and says he feels as if he might retch, Mr M'Coy responds by calling the sensation the thorax. His medical-sounding intervention comes amid the friends' effort to interpret and manage Kernan's discomfort; Mr Cunningham identifies the problem as drink, while Kernan says the pain itself is not severe.

Mr M'Coy's professional interest does not make him a detached observer. He looks at Mr Cunningham and Mr Power with a challenging air as the discussion turns to the episode, and the two men respond to him: Mr Cunningham nods rapidly, and Mr Power offers a consoling remark. Kernan thanks them, keeping the exchange within the familiar companionship of the group even as M'Coy's office gives the case an official edge.

Social Role and Relationships

Mr M'Coy also helps turn the men's talk toward their plans. He proposes meeting at M'Auley's, which he considers the most convenient place, and agrees that they should meet at half-past seven. Mr Power warns that they must not be late because the place is sure to be crowded. M'Coy's suggestion is a small but definite act of coordination: he supplies the venue and time around which the group can gather.

The friends' joking self-accusation draws him into a more revealing exchange. Mr Cunningham calls them all a collection of scoundrels and presses Mr Power to own up; Mr Power does so, and Mr M'Coy follows with his own admission. The exchange makes M'Coy an active participant in the group's rueful camaraderie, rather than merely the man whose new job happens to concern Kernan's case.

Character and Narrative Function

The contrast between M'Coy's unsettled working history and his new official position gives his brief appearances a particular texture. A man who has moved through railway, newspaper, commercial, investigative, and legal-administrative work now approaches Kernan's illness with professional interest, but remains embedded in the same informal circle as the patient and his friends.

His brief declaration of shared culpability belongs to the story's social comedy, while his attention to Kernan's condition connects that comedy to the practical aftermath of a drinking episode. The narrative offers no full account of what the men mean by calling themselves scoundrels, and does not turn M'Coy's confession into a separate revelation; its force lies in the ease with which he joins the collective admission.