The Beginnings of a Sin by Bernard MacLaverty
Plot
 Father Lynch is late again for morning Mass and Colum
feels sorry for him.
 Colum goes door to door in evening selling ballot tickets
and doesn’t understand when a woman tells him Father
Lynch won’t want to win the first prize.
 After tea at home, Colum goes to Parochial House to hand
in money he has collected.
 Housekeeper is strangely unfriendly and tries to hurry him
away.
 Father Lynch appears, very drunk; knocks off and breaks
Colum’s glasses by mistiming a pat on Colum’s head,
before toppling over and cracking his head on radiator.
(Climax of plot.)
 Colum, finally understanding that Father Lynch is an
alcoholic, runs home, upset.
 Colum lies to his mother that he slipped on ice when she
asks how glasses got broken. (Turning point.)
 Next morning, although Colum angrily tries to avoid him,
Father Lynch apologises but checks whether Colum has told
anyone what happened before pushing money into his
hand.
 Colum runs away but still holds on to the money.
The Beginnings of a Sin by Bernard
MacLaverty
Setting
 Probably 1950s/60s: Colum wearing shorts and
“pulled his socks up as high as he could to try
and keep his legs warm.”
 St Kieran’s Catholic Church: author describes
priest dressing in vestry and how Colum serves
him as altar boy.
 Colum’s home: Catholic family, saying Family
Rosary and praying for soul of dead father. Not
rich – widowed mother; only one son grown up
and working to support family.
 Parochial House: divided into separate quarters
for Father Lynch and for housekeeper.
The Beginnings of a Sin by Bernard
MacLaverty
Characters: Colum
 Altar boy: “jangled the cluster of bells”.
 Conscientious: goes out selling ballot
tickets even in snow; “had sold forty-two
books around the doors”.
 Innocent: doesn’t understand until glasses
get broken that priest is alcoholic –
mistakes his “trembling fingers” for being
“holier” than other priests, more in “awe
of the Blessed Sacrament”.
The Beginnings of a Sin by Bernard
MacLaverty
Characters: Father Lynch
 Catholic priest: “prepared to say
Mass”; “kissed the embroidered
cross on his emerald stole”;
“responsibility to change the bread
and wine into the body and blood of
Jesus”.
 Not popular: “None of the other altar
boys liked Father Lynch”; “would nip
them”; “was too quiet and you could
never trust anybody like that”.
The Beginnings of a Sin by Bernard
MacLaverty
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Alcoholic. Main clues are:
Late or doesn’t ”turn up at all” for church services.
Face is “sleep-crumpled…floppiness…deeplywrinkled…sagged and sloped into lines of sadness” because
he is hungover.
Woman on doorstep makes sly remark that he won’t want
“to win it outright then” when Colum says second prize in
raffle is whisky and sherry while first prize is food hamper.
Fingers “trembling” during Mass due to delirium tremens,
withdrawal symptoms from alcohol night before.
Asks housekeeper if juice is “strongest you can find for the
boy to drink”.
Breath smells to Colum “like altar wine”.
Stands up “unsteadily” and when he goes to pat Colum’s
head “he missed and instead his hand struck the side of the
boy’s face” which knocks Colum’s glasses off so they break
on tiled floor. Bending down “lurched forwards onto his
knees” and “weight of his head seemed to topple him” so
“cracked his skull” on radiator.
Weeps: “Father Lynch began to cry with his mouth halfopen”.
The Beginnings of a Sin by Bernard MacLaverty
Theme: truth and lies

In this story, lies are not white lies to protect
someone’s feelings, as in The Exercise, but to
keep secrets, to cover up unsavoury truth.
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Housekeeper lies, saying Father Lynch is ill:
truth is he is too drunk or hung over to come to
Mass.
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Colum lies to mother about how glasses got
broken; says he was “running and they just fell
off. I slipped on the ice”: truth is Father Lynch
knocked them off onto floor.
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Colum’s lie becomes just the beginning of a sin,
because when Father Lynch gives him money for
new glasses, implication is that Colum’s sin will
be compounded: he will be forced to tell mother
another lie to explain how he has acquired
money for new glasses. Colum is now complicit
in covering up secret of Father Lynch’s
alcoholism.
The Beginnings of a Sin by Bernard
MacLaverty
Theme: naivety and loss of innocence
 At start, Colum unaware of Father Lynch’s alcoholism.
Thinks Father Lynch “so nervous” and fingers “trembling”
during Mass due to “holiness” and “awe” of the sacrament
of communion: “what a frightening thing it must be to hold
Christ’s actual flesh”.
 Fails to understand woman on doorstep saying Father
Lynch “won’t be wanting to win it outright” when first prize
is food hamper but second is whisky and sherry.
 Even when he sees Father Lynch drunk, doesn’t understand
why “eyes looked very heavy and he was blinking a lot” and
“Colum smelt a smell like altar wine”.
 Once glasses are broken, Colum finally understands that
priest is habitually drunk – housekeeper exhorts him to
“say a wee prayer for him…he’s in bad need of it.”
 Colum is shocked at this revelation: “knees were like water
and his stomach full of wind”. Mother says he is “as white
as a sheet” when he gets home.
The Beginnings of a Sin by Bernard
MacLaverty
Theme: sin
 Lying is a sin, according to principles of Catholic faith. Story
suggests that sin becomes compounded.
 Colum sins by telling a lie to his mother to conceal fact that
priest broke his expensive glasses.
 Colum sins by accepting money that can be construed as
bribe from Father Lynch who checks that Colum has not
divulged secret: “Did you mention it to your mother?” and
“Are you sure? To anyone?”
 Drinking alcohol is not considered a sin in Catholicism but
Father Lynch’s covering it up is tantamount to lying, which
is a sin.
 Father Lynch sins by bribing Colum with money for new
glasses in exchange for Colum’s silence.
 Father Lynch sins further by trying to blackmail Colum into
silence as well, playing on boy’s feelings about deceased
father, by saying: “I knew your father well…You remind me
of him a lot.”
The Beginnings of a Sin by Bernard
MacLaverty
Symbolism and Irony: narrative techniques to convey theme
 Colum’s glasses when unbroken symbolise his naivety and
innocence. He can see physically but can’t see in sense of
understanding what is wrong with Father Lynch.
 Irony used in conjunction with symbolism to emphasise
Colum’s ignorance of priest’s alcoholism: Father Lynch uses
simile: “You look like a wee owl.” Glasses magnify Colum’s
eyes, making them appear big, like owl, renowned for
excellent eyesight. Seems he should see what problem is
but ironically doesn’t.
 Colum’s glasses when broken symbolise his loss of
innocence: “He could only half see” through broken lens but
sees clearly now, in sense of understanding, that Father
Lynch is a drunkard.
 Ironic that Colum can ‘see’ all too clearly what priest’s
problem is only at point when he can’t physically see
properly through glasses.
The Beginnings of a Sin by Bernard
MacLaverty
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Father Lynch’s priestly vestments symbolise concealment of
his alcoholism. Author describes five different items of
clothing he puts on before Mass: “amice…white
alb…cincture…stole…chasuble”. Priest then tells Colum,
“Normally when people wear beautiful things it is to make
their personality stand out. With a priest it is the opposite.
He wears so much to hide himself.” Layers of clothing
symbolise concealment, secrets, covering up the truth.
When Father Lynch’s secret is revealed to Colum, author
describes him as “wearing an ordinary man’s collarless
shirt, open at the neck”. This symbolises that priest is a
mere mortal despite outward trappings of priestly role, with
ordinary man’s flaws, failings. Shirt is “collarless” in
contrast to priest’s distinctive ‘dog’ collar. Open neck
symbolises secret coming out into the open, revealed to
Colum at last. So ordinary clothes symbolise revelation of
secret.