boats will go in two weeks or more Bartley says This is the one boat going for two weeks or beyond it This line gives us a clear idea of how difficult the islanders' life is In the end he drowns in the sea All Maurya s Men Maurya has lost all her men to the sea She has lost her husband father-in-law and all six of her sons Stephen Shawn Sheamus Patch Michael and Bartley When the play begins Michael is already missing at sea for nine days he is later found dead Barley dies during the play These men are the riders in the title Their deaths show how the sea controls life on the island Every time a man goes out to the sea it feels like a gamble they might return with food or money but they might also never come back In short Riders to the Sea is about the men of the island who are all sea riders They are trapped by the sea They cannot escape it because the sea gives them their livelihood But the same sea also takes their lives