Fionnuala O’Malley

> “And I knew then that I couldn’t wait for our next mission. ”
>
>

**Fionnuala “Nuala” O’Malley** is one of the three major characters and the main narrator in the Ministry of Unladylike Activity series. She is best friends with Hans Erich "Eric" Schlossbauer and Wong Mei Li "May". She is half English, part Irish, and part American.

## Fionnuala O'Malley

Nuala, The Ministry of Unladylike Activity

### Alias(es)

Nuala (nickname)
Fiona (by the Vereys)

## Traits

### Age

11 (The Ministry of Unladylike Activity, The Body in the Blitz)

## Professional Status

### Affiliation(s)

The Company (formerly)
Elysium Hall
The Ministry of Unladylike Activity

## Personal Status

### Relative(s)

Serena Verey (mother)
Frank O’Malley (father; deceased)
Old Mrs Verey (maternal grandmother)
Old Mr Verey (maternal grandfather)
Leonard Foley (uncle; deceased)
Sidney Foley (uncle; deceased)
Hugh Verey (uncle; deceased)
Pamela Verey (aunt; deceased)
Annabelle Olivia Verey (cousin; deceased)
Neil Verey (uncle)

### Friend(s)

May Wong
Eric Schlossbauer

## Childhood

Nuala grew up with her parents’ theatre company, which travelled all around the world. She enjoyed that life, and was sorrowful when her father died and her mother and herself moved back to England to live with her mother’s side of the family. Her mother's side of the family disagreed with her mother's choice to marry a non-English man, and have therefore became resentful of Nuala's Irish name and accent. They started calling her Fiona, a name which sounds more English, but that Nuala hates. N

uala started listening to the BBC on the radio frequently, in order to learn how to put on a proper English accent, so that she'd be more liked by her family. After becoming a detective, she began using that skill to her advantage. While living at Elysium Hall, she made friends with two of the evacuees staying there, Bob and Bert, and enjoyed putting on play with them.

## Personality

Nuala is a mostly confident and clever young girl who loves acting and making up stories. When she feels nervous or scared, she pretends to be a character that she idolises, such as Grainne Ni Mhaille and Nancy Drew. She is also sometimes self-doubtful and acts cool and stand-offish to hide it. She is confirmed by Robin Stevens to have autism.

## Appearance

Nuala is described as quite pretty, with red-brown hair down to her waist, big glasses and heaps of freckles. She is a bit taller than May and Eric. She often wears strange and oversized clothing that used to be costumes in her dad's theatre company or that she borrows from her mother.

## Storylines

### The Ministry of Unladylike Activity

Nuala is first introduced when May and Eric arrive at Elysium Hall. At the beginning of the book, she acts rude to them because when she heard that evacuees were coming, she assumed they'd be the ones that used to stay there, Bob and Bert, and was surprised and disappointed to find that her friends had not returned at all, but that there were two new evacuees. Due to them getting off to a rough start, May and Eric try to stay away from Nuala, mainly focusing on finding the Nazi spy at Elysium Hall. Nuala realises that they're up to something, and spies on them, which ends in an argument.

After the murder, Nuala hesitantly agrees to help them figure out who the murderer is (much to May's reluctance) and they learn to get along. During the investigation, Nuala is observant and uses her closeness and knowledge of all the suspects to help acquire information and rule people out.

### The Body in the Blitz

In this book May and Nuala reunite with Eric, after previously having part ways with him while they each go to their respective schools. They meet in Hogarth Mews, where they will be staying to advance their training with The Ministry as a last resort due to a shortage of spies. During the investigation, Nuala is clever and a lot more confident in her detective skills, while also being cautious and wary about possibly dangerous situations.

## Relationships

### May Wong

Nuala and May first met in The Ministry of Unladylike Activity, when May and Eric arrived at Elysium Hall. They originally get off to a bad start, because when Nuala heard that evacuees were coming, she assumed they'd be the same evacuees who used to be there, Bob and Bert, and was disappointed to see that they weren't. She acted rude and stand-offish, and in response, May acted mean and defensive. At the beginning of the book, Nuala was suspicious of May and Eric and decided to keep an eye on them, and spy on them to see what they were up to. After the murder, though they still argued a lot, they could work together and started to become friends. By the end of the book, May admits that Nuala is not a bad detective, and is excited when she finds out that Nuala will be joining her at Deepdean.

### Eric Schlossbauer

Nuala and Eric meet in The Ministry of Unladylike Activity, when May and Eric arrived at Elysium Hall. May and Nuala originally get off to a bad start, with both of them acting rude, and while Eric also thinks Nuala is rude, he thinks that they shouldn't be too quick to judge and reminds May that she was rude as well. He often mediates May and Nuala's fights throughout the book.

## Trivia

* Scared of heights
* Dislikes “english biscuits”
* Born on Agatha Christie’s birthday