How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
We have morals in Limerick, you know, morals. We're not like jackrabbits from Antrim, a place crawling with Presbyterians. (1. 41)
This passage shows the kind of prejudice against Northerners. The people of Limerick look down on the Northern Irish as immoral people with no sexual self-control. That's their explanation of why Malachy Sr. got Angela pregnant. Hmm—last we knew, it took two.
Quote #2
Angela wanted to give him a middle name, Munchin, after the patron saint of Limerick but Malachy said over his dead body. No son of his would have a Limerick name. (1.59)
Munchin could be the nicest name in the world (Munchin??), but as long as it has associations with Limerick, Malachy Sr. won't hear of it. If Malachy Sr. names his son after the patron saint of Limerick it's akin to his family losing a part of their Northern Irish identity.
Quote #3
Up boys, up. A nickel for everyone who promises to die for Ireland.
Where are my troops? Where are my four warriors? […] I want them up, he says. I want them ready for the day Ireland will be free from the center to the sea. (1.109, 112-114)
Malachy's quite the dreamer, especially when he drinks too much. He's stuck in his old wartime days. But his romantic notions of Ireland are no longer in line with the realities of everyday life. Try as he might to instill in his sons his patriotic spirit, the boys are of a different time. All they know is that dad wakes them up late at night singing of Ireland. Malachy Sr.'s time as an IRA fighter must have been a formative time for him. We don't learn much about it, but we see its influence. Malachy Sr. feels resentful that he "did his bit" for Ireland but no one seems to appreciate it except the other drunks in the pub.