# Murtagh — Lavengro character guide

> Murtagh in Lavengro by George Borrow.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Murtagh

**First appearance:** 0004-i

## Snapshot

A homesick Irishman and old schoolfellow of Lavengro, whose grief and gab carry the folk tales of Finn-ma-Coul and a dungeon in Rome.

## Who they are

Murtagh is a wandering Irishman bound to Lavengro by Dungarvon schooldays and a shared love of old stories, trading the tale of the snake for the legend of Finn-ma-Coul and the salmon. He is heartsore and voluble, weeping over the past even as he spins out the misfortunes of his youth, including a card game with the Pope that landed him chained in a Roman dungeon for three years. His storytelling voice gives the middle of the book its richest vein of Irish folklore and its warmest, most human companionship.

## In the story

### [The Cards and the Irish Lesson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/x)

A tall, restless Papist student who dreads going home due to boredom and longs for a pack of cards to play with his brother Denis.

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/xi)

Mentioned as a comparison: the narrator fears becoming 'frighted' from having nothing to do, like Murtagh.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/xiv)

Mentioned as the narrator's earlier tutor in Irish, which sparked his interest in languages.

### [Chapter XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/xviii)

Mentioned as the 'card-fancying Murtagh' who taught the narrator Irish, contrasting with his later abandonment of Italian for Romani.

### [XLIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/xliv)

The thimble-rigger, revealed to be the narrator's old friend from school; he is cheated and left destitute.

### [Murtagh's Tale of Cards and Clergy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/xlv)

Narrates his tale of imprisonment and card-playing in religious houses.

### [XLVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/chapters/xlvi)

Narrates his entire backstory, including his imprisonment in Rome, escape, military service, and life as a thimble-rigger's companion.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/characters/murtagh
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/lavengro_se/characters