Mrs. Mooney is a shrewd and determined businesswoman who runs a successful boarding house on Hardwicke Street. Following a separation from her alcoholic husband, she secured her financial independence using funds from her former butcher shop. She maintains a watchful eye over her establishment and her daughter, using her keen understanding of social expectations to her family's advantage.

Polly is Mrs. Mooney's nineteen-year-old daughter who currently stays at home to help with the boarding house after her father's disruptions forced her to quit her job as a typist. She entertains the lodgers by singing music-hall songs and frequently engages in casual flirtations. Despite her outwardly naive appearance, she quietly anticipates the outcome of her mother's social maneuvering regarding her romantic life.

Mr. Doran is a wealthy bachelor in his mid-thirties who works in a Catholic wine merchant's office. He has spent years carefully building a respectable reputation in Dublin society. As a lodger at the boarding house, he finds himself caught between his desire for personal freedom and the immense social and religious pressures demanding he preserve his public standing.

Mr. Mooney is the estranged husband of Mrs. Mooney and father to Jack and Polly. Formerly a butcher who worked alongside his wife, he developed a severe dependence on alcohol following the death of his father-in-law. His subsequent erratic and violent behavior prompted Mrs. Mooney to seek a formal separation.

Mrs. Mooney's Father was a working-class butcher in Dublin. His profession established his daughter's socioeconomic background and provided the initial business that she and her husband ran. His presence in the family kept Mr. Mooney's behavior in check before his passing.

Jack is the adult son of Mrs. Mooney who resides at the boarding house. He works as a clerk to a commissions agent on Fleet Street and frequently stays out late. Known for his thick build and combative temper, he fiercely protects his sister's reputation against any perceived slights from other men.

Mary is a domestic worker at the boarding house on Hardwicke Street. She assists Mrs. Mooney with the daily operations of the establishment and runs errands between the lodgers and the landlady.