Conor was a "culchie", ie, from rural Ireland - Richard calls him this at one point just before the fight. He would have been subject to bullying in a Dublin school becuase of this, and getting an atractive (local) girlfriend, however temporarily, would have made it worse. He must have been part of the rugby set-up, so they accepted him but, as always happens, true feelings occasionally emerge. When Con's mother makes the speech in the church, it's apparent that the family are fish out of water, culchies in Dublin, treated with contempt (mainly veiled) by the locals.
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher.
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coleburg83
11 years ago
I understand that, but I don't get why that would mean that Lara would accept gifts from Conor and then lie to Richard about it. And her always needing to leave the group and talk with him in private and what not.
I thought like his mother would be dying from cancer or something. There was never any explanation for Lara's thoughtlessness about the whole thing. She had to know the way she was acting would piss off her (and any) boyfriend.
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You did just fine, Clarence. Now go git yo'self some hot cornbread!
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TwittingOnTrender
11 years ago
Girls of that age tend to love attention. That's not a criticism, it's just a fact - they're blooming into womanhood and guys can wolf-whistle at them and make lewd comments without fear of being called a paedo. The girls lap it up, then MOST of them grow out of it over a few years.
I think Lara was quite astutely depicted as someone who loved the attention from Conor without having to follow through with it, whereas Richard was a better "catch". Like all of the young people in this movie, she was spoiled - she wanted to have her cake and eat it, and bollocks to the consequences.
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher.
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HarveyManfredSinJohn
9 years ago
That's interesting. Thank you for this cultural context.
I suppose it makes sense since Conor, with his traditionally Irish first name and his Celtic singing clearly was less urbanised than his peers. And although he didn't come across as gay, he did seem slightly less macho and 'alpha' than some of the other boys, including Richard, which would potentially mark him out as a target for bullies. In fact, I was rather surprised when it was later revealed that he was part of the same school rugby team as Richard and his mates.
In view of what you said, I wonder how much of the rugby team's grief was merely crocodile tears or false sentiment.
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Queenbee60
7 years ago
I thought Conor was perhaps mentally slow. Girls seemed to always be with him, which made me think they felt 'safe' around him, that he wasn't threatening or bossy with them. He did seem different from the other boys, I just can't pinpoint what the difference is.
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