# Patrick Maloney — The National Being character guide

> Patrick Maloney in The National Being by George William Russell.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Patrick Maloney, Patrick

**First appearance:** 0002-i

## Snapshot

A typical Irish farmer whom the narrator uses as a type, waking from an agricultural sleep of the ages as cooperative organization draws him toward the nation.

## Who they are

Patrick begins as a legend-bound figure, thinking of Ireland as a little dark Rose and a mystic maiden rather than a multitudinous being. As he meets the cooperative movement, his politics take on gravity and his individualism — centered fanatically on family and kith — is pulled outward toward a national circumference. He matters because the book's social vision depends on whether a man like Patrick can be connected, link by link, from home to nation.

## Relationships

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_national_being_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_social_

Patrick Maloney appears as a local figure or acquaintance who engages with the narrator in casual or community-based interactions.

### [Whitman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_national_being_se/characters/whitman)

_social_

Patrick Maloney and Whitman share a single, likely incidental interaction, suggesting a brief or peripheral connection.

## In the story

### [The Transformation of Patrick Maloney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_national_being_se/chapters/iv)

Symbolic Irish farmer; described as economically primitive but possessing latent depth and soul; the subject of transformation through cooperation.

### [Chapter V: The Rural Community and the Cooperative Ideal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_national_being_se/chapters/v)

Mentioned indirectly as part of the rural population; the chapter discusses the plight of farmers like him who were at the mercy of gombeen traders before cooperative societies.

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

Mentioned in the context of Bridget's vision and the Isle of Destiny.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_national_being_se/characters/patrick_maloney
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_national_being_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_national_being_se/characters