Small Things Like These

Set in a small Irish town in 1985 during the bleak weeks leading up to Christmas, Claire Keegan’s "Small Things Like These" follows Bill Furlong, a diligent coal and timber merchant. As Bill navigates his busiest season, delivering fuel to homes and businesses, he grapples with the resurfacing memories of his own difficult upbringing and the kindness he received as a child. His routine is shattered when he makes a delivery to the local convent, a seemingly respectable institution run by the powerful Church. There, he uncovers chilling evidence of the Magdalene Laundries, a brutal system where 'fallen women' were confined and forced into unpaid labor. Faced with the complicit silence of his community and the overwhelming influence of the Church, Bill is forced to confront a profound moral dilemma: will he turn a blind eye, like so many others, or will he risk everything—his reputation, his livelihood, and his family’s security—to do what he believes is right? Keegan crafts a poignant narrative that explores themes of conscience, social injustice, and the quiet courage required to challenge entrenched power structures in a deeply conservative society.