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Eileen serves as both a source of support and a challenging counterpart to Furlong. As the matriarch of a seven-person family, she runs a tight ship with a no-nonsense attitude. She embraces hard responsibilities first, reflecting her strong work ethic and motivation to keep things moving. In many ways, she represents the kind of person Furlong wishes he could be, but she also embodies the opposite of who he is becoming. She is deeply intuitive and senses what Furlong is thinking and what’s troubling him. This characteristic is contrasted by a surface-level empathy, especially regarding the injustices at the convent, creating a nuanced dichotomy within her character. 

Eileen judges Furlong for his small acts of kindness and blames his soft-heartedness on his sensitive nature. While this seems harsh, her judgement stems from her practicality; she believes focusing on their own family’s needs is the safest and best way to live. Deep down, she wishes Furlong were more selfish so he wouldn’t carry the emotional burden of worrying about the world around him. She is aware of this burden and knows how much it weighs on him. Meanwhile, Furlong envies her ability to move on without ruminating over things as he does. 

Eileen grew up with more family than Furlong, and she holds onto those memories by placing value on activities like making hand-crafted ornaments and baking with her daughters. She is satisfied with the mundane, unlike Furlong. Her no-nonsense attitude contributes to her indifference toward other people’s problems, and she is able to dismiss anything that doesn’t directly affect her family. By the end of the story, Eileen becomes a subtle antagonist, opposing Furlong’s growing motivation to confront the abuse he has witnessed at the convent. 

Bonus fact: In the 2024 movie adaptation of Small Things Like These, Eileen Walsh was cast as Eileen Furlong.

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