Summary

“The Clancy Kid” takes place in a small, unspecified town on the Atlantic coast of Ireland. Jimmy Devereux, the protagonist/narrator is a twenty-five-year-old man. He is in a pub with his friend Brendan “Tug” Cuniffe. Tug is physically imposing and has a reputation for being somewhat impulsive and eccentric. He has psychiatric medication, but he does not always take it. Jimmy has had a sporadic long-term relationship with a local woman named Marlene Davey. However, Marlene became pregnant by another local man—Mark Cuculann—and recently gave birth. Mark and Marlene arrive at the pub. Tug begins talking to Jimmy about a young boy who recently went missing during a school trip in Dublin; the boy’s surname is Clancy. Tug speculates on what might have happened to the boy.

Jimmy and Tug begin to leave, but they stop...