The Delegation by Michael Moloney Suggested Questions for Book Clubs/Reading Groups 1 Kennedy: Tom Kennedy, the private secretary, has decided to swallow his pride in favour of getting promotion. Have you ever seen similar situations in the workplace or generally. Or experienced a similar situation yourself. Cahill: Like all the characters, Senator Cahill has an agenda. How consistent is his agenda with other aspects of his behaviour? Mulligan: Mulligan appears to have an enormous capacity to hurt people around him: his wife, his children, the reputation of the Department, his driver in Zambia. To what extent is he redeemed by his behaviour. Is he a realistic character? Why did Mulligan sack his Zambian driver, Peter Sithole? 4 Patricia Lynch: of the three returning to Ireland, Patricia has lost most. What regrets will she have? Will she regret waiting and searching for her lover? Not doing enough at the garden party/in Zimbabwe? Did the Irishman in Zimbabwe, Moriarty, have any role to play in Cahill’s murder? At what stage did you start to have an inkling as to which Irish person ends up in the body bag? 6 Did you accept Morgan Nkomo’s version of events to Patricia: i.e. that he did not know of his girlfriend’s pregnancy? What do you think might have happened to the other three members of the delegation on their return to Ireland. Is the treatment of black and white issues dealt with evenly? Has reading The Delegation increased your interest in what is happening in Zimbabwe today?
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