Father Welsh Meaning

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Father Welsh (Swayde McGaughey) is the symbol of insignificance. He is so unimportant to everyone, they cannot ever remember his name. Everyone calls him Father Walsh and he does not even try to correct them. When he dies no one besides for Girleen Kelleher (Maggie Ellison) seems to be truly moved. He is burdened with the sins and confessions of the congregation of the church. His friend Coleman Connor (Joe Serpa Daniels) has killed his father and confessed to Welsh. This is a burden that is too much for Father Welsh to handle along with the suicides that are happening within the congregation. Father Welsh is suffering from his insecurities and the problems of the congregation.
Father Welsh is an unhappy man, who is a drunk and a hypocrite.
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He lies to her and promises to send an address to her of his location, while knowing he will do no such thing. He is so far gone and his self-pity that he does not realize the one person that cares for him and that is trying to save his soul. Girleen effortlessly tries to make Father Welsh feel better as they sit on the park bench. She tells the story of why she likes sitting in the cemetery and why the dead envy the living. She tells him that at least why he is alive he has a chance to be happy. Yet, he refuses to accept her words as truth and kills …show more content…
He said that he believed that if Tom would have had someone to talk to or friends that care about him that he would not have committed suicide. What he said and the fact that he committed suicide shows how blind and oblivious he was to Girleen feelings for him. Girleen is the person Father Welsh had to talk to and the friend that cared for him. She was the only person who constantly cared about him from saving all her money from selling poteen to buy him a necklace to being overcome with grief at his funeral from missing him. She was angered at the brothers for how they treat each other because Father Welsh’s soul depended on