# Mr. Cunningham — Dubliners character guide

> Mr. Cunningham in Dubliners by James Joyce.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Martin Cunningham, Martin

**First appearance:** 0013-grace

## Snapshot

A kindly, capable Dubliner entrusted with the delicate operation of returning Mr. Kernan to the Church without letting him feel handled.

## Who they are

Where Mr. Power supplies the idea of the retreat, Cunningham supplies the tact—the visits, the flattery, the careful timing that will get a proud, thirsty man through the chapel door. He moves through Dublin as a fixer of other people's souls, warm and slightly managerial, the friend everyone calls when a situation needs smoothing. His quiet competence sets the story's tone: grace here arrives by committee, arranged by men who know exactly how much a man's dignity weighs.

## In the story

### [Grace](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dubliners_se/chapters/grace)

The leader of the plot to bring Kernan back to Catholicism; a sensible, influential man with an unhappy domestic life.

## Links

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