The play begins with the two daughters, Nora and Cathleen, discussing the news that the body of a man has washed up on the shore far north from where they live. They are wondering whether the body may be their brother Michael. Michael has not been home for a very long time, so it seems apparent that he is dead. The sole surviving son, Bartley, wishes to sail to Connemara in order to sell a horse. When mother Maurya hears of this news, she begs him to stay at home, lest he join the fate of her other sons. But Bartley will not hear anything of it. He insists on going. So distraught is the mother that she forgets to bless her son as he leaves - which in the lore of the superstition islanders, is an omen that will most likely result in her son's death. The daughters castigate...
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