"Nights in Ballygran"
Season 1, Episode 5
Air date	October 17, 2010
Written by	Lawrence Konner
Directed by	Alan Taylor
Episode Guide
previous "Anastasia"	next "Family Limitation"

"Nights in Ballygran" is the fifth episode of the first season of Boardwalk Empire, and the fifth episode overall. It was written by co-executive producer Lawrence Konner and directed by Alan Taylor. It premiered on October 17, 2010.

The episode is set during Saint Patrick's Day and progresses the relationship between Nucky and Margaret. The title is taken from the title line of an Irish folk song, Carrickfergus.

Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Summary 1.2 Recap 2 Appearances 2.1 First Appearances 2.2 Deaths 3 Production 3.1 Cast 3.1.1 Starring 3.1.2 Guest-Starring 3.1.3 Co-Starring 3.2 Music 4 Reception 5 Memorable Quotes 6 References 7 External links

PlotEdit

SummaryEdit

Margaret wakes to see ward boss James Neary's men offloading beer barrels into a garage behind her house. She meets Nucky on her way to work, but he disappoints her with his sudden aloofness. After discussing the garage at a Temperance League meeting, Margaret and a colleague manage to meet with Nucky, who promises to take action but does nothing. Margaret sees the deliveries again that night; brushed off by Neary and ignored altogether by Thompson, she reports Neary's garage to Van Alden. The agent initially dismisses the operation as one of hundreds in the city, but she catches his interest by mentioning that Neary works for Nucky Thompson.

As Nucky and Eli prepare for the St. Patrick's Day celebrations, Eli mentions his coming reelection campaign and presses to "say a few words" at the Celtic Dinner, a gathering of local Irish bigwigs. Nucky is skeptical of Eli's efforts to improve at public speaking but reluctantly accedes. Local dwarves, who work at a boxing ring, have been hired to dress up as leprechauns for the Dinner. When they complain about the degrading gig, their leader Carl promises to have Nucky double their pay.

In Chicago, Jimmy takes care of Pearl after her attack, but she continues her spiral into depression and laudanum addiction. Johnny Torrio orders her evicted because her scarred face prevents her from working as a prostitute. Jimmy offers to pay for her keep, but realizes he cannot afford to. Pearl seems to understand her predicament: later that night, she drunkenly flaunts her scarred face in the lounge and, after a last kiss with Jimmy, finally shoots herself while he is washing up.

Nucky meets with his ward bosses, who anticipate large profits from selling booze on St. Patrick's Day. Nucky jokes about Eli's upcoming speech at the Celtic Dinner, to the amusement of everyone but an offended Eli. Carl the dwarf comes to see Nucky, who bribes Carl into selling the other dwarves on a much smaller raise.

In New York, Arnold Rothstein reads a newspaper article about the Black Sox Scandal and tells his lawyer he is worried about his involvement becoming known.

In the Darmody apartment, Gillian suggests that Angela should stop waiting for Jimmy and start over with another man, even offering to raise Jimmy's son for her. Angela angrily rejects her offer and leaves to meet a "friend", who is later revealed to live in the boardwalk's photography studio.

At the Celtic Dinner, Eli's speech is a debacle, inflaming a factional dispute and forcing Nucky to intercede. Eli drinks heavily and reveals his resentment of his brother's easy charm and diplomatic skill. Van Alden, acting on Margaret's information, raids the dinner, arrests James Neary in front of Nucky, and shuts the event down. Nucky sees Margaret with the Temperance League, cheering on the raid, and realizes what she has done. Later that night, he visits Margaret's home unannounced. The couple abruptly embrace and begin a physical relationship.

RecapEdit

Main article: Nights in Ballygran recap

A detailed recap of the episode scene by scene.

Appearances Edit

First Appearances Edit

1. Ethan Thompson, father of Nucky and Eli Thompson.
2. Bill Fallon, Arnold Rothstein's lawyer.
3. June Thompson, Eli's wife.
4. Ernie Moran, Irish businessman relocated to Atlantic City and member of the Order of Ancient Celts.
5. Kitty, a prostitute at the Four Deuces.

Deaths Edit

1. Pearl, committing suicide with Jimmy's gun.

ProductionEdit

CastEdit

StarringEdit

• Steve Buscemi as Enoch "Nucky" Thompson
• Michael Pitt as James "Jimmy" Darmody
• Kelly MacDonald as Margaret Schroeder
• Michael Shannon as Agent Nelson Van Alden
• Shea Whigham as Sheriff Elias "Eli" Thompson
• Aleksa Palladino as Angela Darmody
• Michael Stuhlbarg as Arnold Rothstein
• Stephen Graham as Al Capone
• Vincent Piazza as Lucky Luciano (credit only)
• Paz de la Huerta as Lucille "Lucy" Danziger (credit only)
• Michael K. Williams as Chalky White (credit only)
• Anthony Laciura as Edward "Eddie" Kessler
• Paul Sparks as Mickey Doyle (credit only)
• Dabney Coleman as Commodore Louis Kaestner

Guest-StarringEdit

• Gretchen Mol as Gillian Darmody
• Tom Aldredge as Ethan Thompson
• Greg Antonacci as Johnny Torrio
• Dana Ivey as Mrs. McGarry
• Erik Weiner as Agent Sebso
• Emily Meade as Pearl

Co-StarringEdit

• Sean Allison as Boxer 1
• David Aaron Baker as Bill Fallon
• Steven L. Barron as Reporter 1
• Susan Blommaert as Irene Davis
• Pearce Bunting as Bill McCoy
• Kenneth Cavett as Drunken Celt
• Robert Clohessy as Ward Boss Jim Neary
• John Treacy Egan as Duncan O'Connor
• John Joseph Gallagher as Celt 1
• Lucy and Josie Gallina as Emily Schroeder
• William Hill as Ward Boss George O'Neill
• Austin Jones as Waiter Martin
• Judson Jones as John 1
• John Keating as Celt 4 (Ernie Moran)
• Laurence Lowry as Celt 2
• Raymond McAnally as Workman 1
• Edward McGinty as Ward Boss Boyd
• Declan and Rory McTigue as Teddy Schroeder
• Edelen McWilliams as Bettyanne Mulhaney
• Brady and Connor Noon as Tommy Darmody
• Nic Novicki as Carl Heely
• Jack O'Connell as Celt 3
• Mikey Post as Mike Green
• Mark Povinelli as Kevin Kiley
• Christopher James Quinn as Reporter 2
• John Rue as Mayor Harry Bacharach
• Faith Sandberg as Kitty
• Cezary Skarzynski as Boxer 2
• Anna Stone as Bridget Walsh
• Nisi Sturgis as June Thompson
• Susan Varon as Madam Regina
• Victor Verhaeghe as Ward Boss Fleming
• Margot Jewers as Temperance Singer 1
• Fran Lieu as Temperance Singer 2
• Nicole Lackey as Temperance Singer 3
• Erin Mae Miller as Temperance Singer 4
• Lynne Valley as Temperance Singer 5

MusicEdit

The song playing at the end of the episode, and ove the end credits is called Carrickfergus, an Irish folk song named after a large town in County Antrim, known locally as Carrick and famed for its Norman Castle, Carrickfergus Castle. The version used is performed by Loudon Wainwright III.

Reception Edit

The episode rebounded a bit to a 1.3 adults 18–49 rating after the previous week's plunge to a 1.1 rating and received a total of 2.850 million viewers.^[1]

IGN said the episode was "Outstanding" and gave the episode 9/10. They said "For those who are still on the fence about Boardwalk Empire's greatness, shut up and watch episode five, "Nights in Ballygran". The episode features the show's strongest character interactions yet, as Margaret's role in the Temperence League threatens both Nucky's political and criminal enterprises as Federal Agent Van Alden applies pressure to both." "The more shows like this make it harder for their main characters to do the right thing - the farther away they get from what the right thing is - is when television approaches being great. With "Nights in Ballygran", Boardwalk pushes past great and puts its sights on landmark." ^[2]

Memorable QuotesEdit

• "It's opium not a milkshake." — Jimmy Darmody
• "I've been lectured to a great deal today by men who speak boldly and do nothing." — Margaret Schroeder
• "It's lie as well as me, you dolt." — Nucky Thompson

ReferencesEdit

External linksEdit

• "Nights in Ballygran" at HBO.com
• "Nights in Ballygran" on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
• "Nights in Ballygran" at TV.com
• "Nights in Ballygran" at Wikipedia

This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).

Season One

#01 Boardwalk Empire	#07 Home
#02 The Ivory Tower	#08 Hold Me in Paradise
#03 Broadway Limited	#09 Belle Femme
#04 Anastasia	#10The Emerald City
#05 Nights in Ballygran	#11 Paris Green
#06 Family Limitation	#12 A Return to Normalcy