Sarah Casey convinces the reluctant Michael Byrne to marry her by threatening to run off with another man.
Michael's mother shows up drunk and harasses the priest, then steals the can to exchange it for more drink.
The next morning Sarah and Michael go to the chapel to be wed, but when the priest finds that the can is missing he refuses to perform the ceremony.
The tinkers free him after he swears not to set the police after them and he curses them in God's name as they flee in mock terror.
The play had its world premiere at His Majesty's Theatre in London on 11 November 1909, after Synge's death earlier that year.