# Mr. Holohan — Dubliners character guide

> Mr. Holohan in Dubliners by James Joyce.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Holohan, A Mother Mr. Holohan

**First appearance:** 0012-a-mother

## Snapshot

The Eire Abu Society's harried assistant secretary, a novice at bills and programmes who gratefully surrenders the concert's details to Mrs. Kearney's drawing-room.

## Who they are

Mr. Holohan arrives at the Kearneys' with a proposal and leaves with a contract, a glass of sherry, and a daily appointment for advice. He means well and knows he is out of his depth—capitals, small type, the first tenor's ego—so he lets Mrs. Kearney arrange everything, including the money. His helplessness is the hinge on which the story's later quarrel turns: a man too mild to hold a line is exactly the man someone else will hold it for.

## In the story

### [A Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dubliners_se/chapters/a-mother)

The assistant secretary of the Eire Abu Society, who organizes the concerts and ultimately clashes with Mrs. Kearney over payment.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dubliners_se/characters/holohan
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dubliners_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dubliners_se/characters