Furphy 1 - The Red Cord - A neglected folk motif in the early fiction of Thomas Keneally

Abstract

In Tom Keneally's novel, 'Bring Larks and Heroes' (1967), there recurs and interesting Irish folk-motif, that of the red cord worn by Ann Rush, the convict mistress and 'secret bride' (p. 7) of the protagonist, Royal Marine Corporal Phelim Halloran, a theologically confused former Irish seminarian who had once studied with the Bishop of Wexford. When contemplating intercourse with Ann, Halloran first asks if she has on her 'red string' (p.33), a cord worn around the waist under her clothes.