SEAMUS DRISCOL : Page 1

Seamus is a resident of Fair Haven who likes limericks and enjoys alcoholic drinks. Sullivan makes a joke implying that Seamus does not pay for his drinks, and he also reminds Seamus: "Now Seamus, you're not a great one for telling things the way they were." Seamus replies: "I'll admit I've been known to add a little colour to stories from time to time to liven things up."

Seamus appears to row with his wife fairly often, as Paris surmises from one conversation with Seamus that his wife has thrown him out again, with Seamus confirming this: "With nothing but the clothes on my back." Often he wears a bowler hat. He is always on the look-out for friends who are willing to to lend or give him money.

Seamus Driscol, one of the Irish holocharacters, comes up behind Paris and accosts him. "So, where're you heading?" Paris: "Er, Sullivan's. Care to join me?" This gives Seamus the opening he wants. "Ah, wish I could, but there's a bit of a problem." Paris: "Oh, really?" Paris knows this is not at all unusual for Seamus. Seamus's words pour out: "You see, Tommy, my boy, the good Lord blessed me with a fine wife. I'll never forget the day I met her. I was on my way to the fair in Doolin, or was it Kilkee?, there's some fine cod-fishing to be had in Kilkee at this time of year-" Paris: "Who said anything about trout?" Seamus: "Timothy Ryan, God rest his soul. He was one for the trout. The poor man's been dead a fortnight. Some say he had the croup, but don't you believe it. Widow Moore gave him the Evil Eye." Paris: "And your point?" Seamus: "My wife and I, well, we've hit a bit of a rough patch." But he insists: "A better woman never walked the face of the Earth." Paris surmises: "She threw you out again." Seamus: "With nothing but the clothes on my back." Paris, of course, knows Seamus well. "How much?" Seamus: "A shilling....or two....should suffice." Paris hands him some money. "Keep the change." Seamus: "God bless you, Tommy my boy." He leaves, almost scampering with his "prize" money.

In [Spirit Folk], when Paris tells Seamus that he has come into a legacy as his grandfather on his mother's side has died, Seamus remarks: "Sounds like he was a fine man." Wheedling, unsubtlely, palm out: "I'd drink a toast to him if I had a shilling to my name." Paris chuckles. "Here." He places a few coins in the outstretched palm. "It's on me." Seamus looks at the coins and protests: "It'll take three pints to do a proper job, Tommy boy, and this isn't even enough for two." Paris hands him more. "There. That's all I've got."

He has also broken the 5th Commandment ("honour thy father and mother") more than once, for which, in [Fair Haven], the Doctor as Father Mulligan (mixing doctoral and pastoral practice) gives him the penance: "Say ten Our Fathers and call me in the morning." Seamus is typically a religious man, who includes religious oaths in his everyday speech.

In [Fair Haven], he bets three shillings, which he obtained from Tom Paris as the result of his hard-luck story about his being thrown out by his wife (again), on Liam in his arm-wrestling match against Harry Kim. When Liam loses, and thereby loses Seamus the three shillings, Seamus pounds him on the back. (We do not know if Paris gave him more than three shillings and/or if Seamus bought his own drink in the pub.)

As Kim starts to win, Seamus shouts at Liam: "What in God's name...? Come on, Liam, push!"

Seamus is a mover of many events in [Spirit Folk]. After seeing Tom Paris "magically" repair a wheel on his motor car (Paris orders Voyager's computer to replace the wheel), Seamus becomes convinced that Fair Haven has been invaded by spirit folk.

Paris, unaware that Seamus is watching him, orders the computer to replace the damaged tyre.

Seamus is astonished! He crosses himself. "Saints preserve us!"

Holding forth in Sullivan's pub to a number of townsfolk, Seamus brings up the subject of the village of Kilmanin - in 1846, it is said that faery folk befriended the villagers, but mysterious things started happening until, come winter, the whole village vanished.

above 2 pictures: Seamus and villagers in the pub

Seamus persuades his friend Milo to come with him to follow Tom Paris secretly that evening in order to watch him. Paris in turn is secretly following and watching Kim, who is on a date with Maggie O'Halloran. Seamus' suspicions about Paris are confirmed when they witness Paris turn Maggie into a cow (he alters her holoprogram).

While secretly watching Tom Paris as he in turns secretly watches Harry Kim with Maggie O'Halloran, Milo and Seamus can hardly believe their eyes when Paris turns Maggie into a cow! cow morph (pop-up window) [#137 Spirit Folk]

Next morning Seamus and Milo take Maggie the cow into St Mary's Church. There they try to persuade Father Mulligan (the Doctor) that it is really Maggie, but the Doctor does not believe them and takes charge of the cow.

Seamus and Milo with Maggie the cow in St. Mary's Church;
the Doctor's back is in the foreground of the picture

The Doctor restores Maggie's original holographic visual form, and, relocated back to her flower-cart on the street, she relates what she thinks is just a strange dream to Milo and Seamus. She dreamt that she was wandering around town wearing nothing but a bell and wound up in church, where everyone stared at her, and Milo and Seamus were there too. The scene is depicted below:

The Doctor restores Maggie's original parameters and materialises her back onto the street. At that moment Milo and Seamus come round the corner and see her. She is looking disorientated. Milo: "Maggie!" Maggie: "Well, good morning, boys." Seamus: "Is everything alright? You're looking a little out of sorts this morning." Maggie: "Well, I must admit, I'm not feeling quite myself today." She sits down. Milo: "Oh?" Maggie: "Well, this is going to sound very odd, but I feel like I just woke up from the strangest dream, and I don't remember going to sleep!" Milo: "You're right. That does sound odd." Seamus: "Do you remember anything about last night?" Maggie: "Well, I was out with Harry Kim. He chatted me up at The Ox & Lamb, and we were off on a walk before I knew it." Milo: "What did you do on your walk?" Maggie is indignant at what she thinks is an improper implication. "We talked! What kind of a girl do you think I am?!" Seamus: "Now, Maggie, we weren't implying anything." Milo agrees with him: "No!" Seamus: "Do you recall anything else about the evening?" Milo: "Did anything out of the ordinary happen, anything at all?" Maggie: "I don't remember!" Seamus: "Well, tell us about the dream, then." Maggie: "Oh. It was most unpleasant. I was walking around town with nothing but a bell around my neck. Somehow I wound up in church. Everyone was staring at me. You were there, Seamus, and you too, Milo. The next thing I was tending my flowers just as you boys walked up." Seamus: "Well, that's quite a story, Maggie."

After Sullivan warns the townsfolk that Paris and Kim intend to visit Sullivan's pub that night to somehow alter the Fair Haven inhabitants, Seamus leads the people in a frightened, angry and hysterical mob in a quest to rid Fair Haven of spirit folk such as Tom Paris, Harry Kim and the Doctor and, presumably, any other faery folk they can find.

at night, in St Mary's Church, Seamus incites the townsfolk to attack Paris and Kim after Grace Declan reports seeing them in Sullivan's

Under Seamus' leadership, the Fair Haven residents make nets made of red twine on Paris and Kim (the red twine is designed to stop faery folk from changing shape), and several women of the town collect ash berries to stop faery folk using their powers against one.

The townsfolk charge into Sullivan's pub and throw the red twine nets over Kim and Paris, but they manage to disentangle themselves and escape after Seamus tells Milo to shoot at the strange-looking panel on the wall which speaks with a voice from the Other World (it is the LCARS computer panel, and the voice is that of the ship's computer), as that damages the holodeck systems. Seamus is the first out of the pub in the chase after Paris and Kim. The townsfolk soon catch up with them. Due to the holodeck malfunction, the exit doors do not materialise properly and then vanish, denying Paris and Kim that way of escape.

Seamus points to the speaking wall; Milo then shoots at it

Seamus pursues Paris and Kim as they run from the pub