The plot concerns an elderly Irish woman, Kate Houlihan, who dies and leaves her fortune equally between her two nephews Michael and William.
The two men find they are unable to live in peace so Kate's solicitor, Mr Applebloom, decides to partition the cottage.
The play came to the attention of Northern Irish actor and comedian James Young who decided to run it at the Ulster Group Theatre, Belfast.
McDonnell rewrote the play for Young, including the addition of a new character, an Englishman who did not understand Irish politics.
[5][6][7] Kate Houlihan, a frail aged woman, lives in a cottage somewhere in the south of Ireland and is looked after by her housekeeper Julia Finegan.
She has two cousins, Michael Maloney from Kildare and William "Willie" MacStay is from Sandy Row in Belfast.
Willie assures Applebloom that he is confident that Kate will not leave him anything saying that he knows "how the Roman Catholic Church operates up here."
Kate leaves a small amount to Julia with the remainder of her money and property to be divided equally between her two cousins.
Willie states that a picture of Éamon de Valera will have to be removed from the wall as he considers it provoking.
Michael explains the situation to Mr Applebloom who realises that the only way to stop the fighting from taking place is to keep both men apart.
Mr Applebloom draws a line down the middle of the room, in effect partitioning the cottage.
Michael lets Willie hear the results up to the point when his favourite team, Linfield, is being announced, turning off the radio when their opponent's scores are about to be read.
In retaliation, Willie switches off the lights to the room just as Julia returns with the cups, causing her to trip and shatter them.
Gerry leaves and Applebloom cautions the men to live in peace or they will not inherit their share of the fortune.
He states that while he considers himself a nationalist he approves of the real Irish border as without it there "wouldn't be a spark of national spirit left in the country."
Reilly is keen to see the agreement go ahead and convinces everyone to discuss the matter civilly.
Applebloom is disappointed that Michael and Willie can't reach an agreement to sell the house.
Applebloom starts to act drunk, due to it his having had a birthday drink, and he tells Willie that love is more important than politics.
The two share a drink and Willie admits to having met and falling love with a woman called Martha who died weeks before they were due to be married.
Willie states he will shake Michael's hand and "ask King Billy to look the other road."
Mary arrives and Applebloom worries that he will be remembered in the same league as David Lloyd George for having divided the cottage.
Gerry tells Mary that when Applebloom drew the line on the floor he didn't think it would be so hard to rub it out again.
When the play was transferred from Dublin to Belfast, star James Young suggested a number of changes to the author.
The plot and most of the dialogue remained the same, but a number of minor changes to the script altered the tone to focus more on the comedy of the situation.
This character was Reginald "Reggie" Jones-Jackson, a stereotypical upper class Englishman; very polite and obliging and also dim-witted.
[4] The first major change occurs during Act I Scene two just after the cottage has been partitioned and Julia has returned.
The scene plays out largely as in the original version, except both Willie and Michael share their own political views with Reggie, who amiably agrees to everything despite finding the situation in the cottage unbelievable.
The scene plays out as before except Reggie continually moves the parcel around the room to avoid it shattering as the men argue and bang the table.
In doing so he congratulates the men for being British, causing Michael to become angry and he and Willie chase Reggie from the cottage.
In Act III Scene one Reggie appears when Michael and Willie argue over whom to sell the cottage to.