The story’s title references “Ivy Day,” October 6, which is the anniversary of Parnell’s death and the day on which the story is set. Mr. O’Connor and Mr. Hynes both wear buttonholes of an ivy leaf, a sign of commemoration of Parnell on the anniversary of his death. The buttonholes are an outward sign of the men’s political allegiance and their recognition of Parnell as a political and cultural hero. Joyce thus sets up the expectation that the two men will hold similar views and be allies. However, much of the story’s moral tension is between the characters of Mr. O’Connor and Mr. Hynes, highlighting that, although they may both heroize Parnell, they reflect their beliefs in very different ways. Joyce uses the ostensibly unifying symbol of ivy to critique the stagnation of Irish nationalism in the early 1900s.

Mr. Tierney buys his canvassers porter, a very strong malted beer. The canvassers are given beer as a means to put off paying them for their services, emphasizing both the questionable legitimacy of the electoral process and the issue of alcohol dependency, the dangers of which are highlighted early in the story by