ON THIS DATE (19TH SEPTEMBER) 215 YEARS AGO : ROBERT EMMET ON 'TRIAL'.
Robert Emmet was tried before a 'Special Commission' in Green Street Court House in Dublin on September 19th, 1803 - 215 years ago on this date.
The 'trial' lasted all day and by 9.30pm he was pronounced guilty ; asked for his reaction, he delivered a speech ("..when my country takes her place among the nations of the earth, then, and not till then, let my epitaph be written.." - full text here) which still inspires today. He closed by saying that he cared not for the opinion of the court but for the opinion of the future - "..when other times and other men can do justice to my character.."
He was publicly executed the next day, Tuesday, September 20th, 1803, outside St Catherine's Church in Dublin's Thomas Street. The final comment on the value of Robert Emmet's Rising must go to Séan Ó Brádaigh who states that to speak of Emmet in terms of failure alone is to do him a grave injustice. He and the men and women of 1798 and 1803 and, indeed, those that went before them, set a course for the Irish nation, with their appeal to Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter under the common name of 'Irishman', which profoundly affected Irish life for more than two centuries and which will, we trust, eventually bear abundant fruit - "The Society of United Irishmen to which he belonged was no myth. Nor is the Republican resistance to English rule in Ireland, before Emmet's Rising and since, a myth. The invasion, conquest and plantation of Ireland are no myths, nor is the suffering of the Irish people. We know of the laws against Catholics, we know of the landlord system and the evictions, the starvation of 1845-48 and the coffin ships. None of these are myths.." (more here.)
It should be noted that it was not only college-educated men and women like Robert Emmet (ie those who might be perceived as being 'upper class') who decided to challenge Westminster's interference in Irish affairs in 1803 : so-called 'working class' men and women also acknowledged the need for such resistance - Edward Kearney, carpenter, hanged, Thomas St / Owen Kirwin, tailor, hanged, Thomas St, September 1st 1803 / Maxwell Roche, roofer, hanged, Thomas St, September 2nd 1803 / Denis Lambert Redmond, coal facer, hanged, Coalquay (Woodquay) Dublin, / John Killeen, carpenter, hanged, Thomas St, September 10th 1803 / John McCann, shoemaker, hanged at his own doorstep, Thomas St, September 10th 1803 / Felix Rourke, farm labourer, hanged, Rathcoole, Dublin, September 10th 1803 / Thomas Keenan, carpenter, hanged, Thomas St, September 11th 1803 / John Hayes, carpenter, hanged, Thomas St, September 17th 1803 / Michael Kelly, carpenter, hanged, Thomas St, September 17th 1803 / James Byrne, baker, hanged, Townsend St, Dublin, September 17th 1803 / John Begg, tailor, hanged, Palmerstown, Dublin, September 17th 1803 / Nicholas Tyrrell, factory worker, hanged, Palmerstown, Dublin, September 17th 1803 / Henry Howley, carpenter, hanged, Kilmainham Jail, Dublin, September 20th 1803 / John McIntoch, carpenter, hanged, Patrick St, Dublin, October 3rd 1803 - there are dozens more we could list here, but suffice to say that 'class' alone was not then, nor is it now, a deciding factor in challenging British military and political interference in this country. 'Justice' is the deciding factor in that equation.
Old Ireland's surrounded with sadness and gloom
We were defeated and shamefully treated
And I, Robert Emmet, awaiting my doom
Hung, drawn and quartered,
sure that was my sentence
But soon I will show them no coward am I
My crime is the love of the land I was born in
A hero I lived and a hero I'll die'.
''SINN FÉIN IS EVERYTHING ITS NAME IMPLIES - GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE....!'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, October 1954.
AMERICA PROPPING UP THE EMPIRE....
We ask the American people, and particularly those of Irish origin, to examine where they are being led, to look beyond the statements of the politicans to the actions which follow them, to realise what their money and their armed forces are being used for.
How low have they fallen, that 'the land of the free and the home of the brave' should be used as a bully-boy to protect John Bull and his accursed 'empire'? (END of 'America Propping Up The Empire' : next - 'Church Objects To U.S. Comics', from the same source.)
ON THIS DATE (19TH SEPTEMBER) 138 YEARS AGO - PARNELL AND BIDDING FOR AN 'EVICTED' PROPERTY.
'In September 1796, Ireland was pregnant with expectation. The United Irishmen and Defenders planned insurrection and a French invasion was imminent. On 19 September Dublin Castle announced plans to follow Britain’s lead and enlist civilian volunteers as a yeomanry force. In October commissions were issued to local gentlemen and magistrates empowering them to raise cavalry troops and infantry companies. Recruits took the ‘Yeomanry oath’, were officered by the local gentry but were paid, clothed, armed and controlled by government. Their remit was to free the regular army and militia from domestic peacekeeping and do garrison duty if invasion meant troops had to move to the coast. Service was part-time—usually two ‘exercise days’ per week—except during emergencies when they were called up on 'permanent duty'.
If the Irish Yeomanry are remembered at all it is usually for their notoriety in the bloody summer of 1798. The popular folk memory of every area which saw action supplies lurid stories from the burning of Father John Murphy’s corpse in a tar barrel at Tullow to the sabreing and mutilation of Betsy Gray after the battle of Ballynahinch....(from here.)
At a meeting in Ennis, County Clare, on the 19th September 1880 - 138 years ago on this date - Charles Stewart Parnell - whom the British described as "..combining in his person all the unlovable qualities of an Irish member with the absolute absence of their attractiveness...something really must be done about him...he is always at a white heat or rage and makes with savage earnestness fancifully ridiculous statements.." , who was looked at in a wary fashion by some of his own people as he was a Protestant 'Landlord' who 'owned' about 5,000 acres of land in County Wicklow and his parents were friends of and, indeed, in some cases, related to, the local Protestant 'gentry', stated - "Now what are you to do with a tenant who bids for a farm from which his neighbour has been evicted? Now I think I heard somebody say 'Shoot him!', but I wish to point out a very much better way, a more Christian and more charitable way...when a man takes a farm from which another had been evicted you must shun him on the roadside when you meet him, you must shun him in the streets of the town, you must shun him in the shop, you must shun him in the fairgreen and in the marketplace, and even in the place of worship, by leaving him alone, by putting him in a moral coventry, by isolating him from the rest of his country as if he were the leper of old, you must show your detestation of the crime he has committed..".
However, another man in the leadership of the 'Irish National Land League' which, at its peak, had 200,000 active members, John Blake Dillon (who was also a member of 'The Young Irelanders' War Council) will forever be more associated with introducing the word 'boycott' into the English language as it was Dillon who was the most active in organising such campaigns.
Also active was the then British Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone who, within months of Parnell's 'Boycott' statement, introduced and enforced a 'Crimes Act' ; that particular piece of British 'statute law' in Ireland was better known as the 'Coercion/Protection of Person and Property Act', which made it illegal to assemble in relation to certain issues and an offence to conspire against the payment of rents 'owed' which, ironically, was a piece of legislation condemned by the same catholic church which condemned the 'Irish National Land League'! That church did not approve of the Act because it introduced permanent legislation and did not have to be renewed on each political term.
To go out and fight for it,
Work day and night for it,
Give up your time and your peace and your sleep for it,
If only desire of it
Makes you quite mad enough
Never to tire of it,
Makes you hold all other Awards tawdry and cheap,
If life seems all empty and useless without it
And all that you scheme and you dream is about it,
If gladly you'll sweat for it,
Fret for it,
Plan for it,
Lose all your terror of God or man for it,
If you'll simply go after that Award that you want
With all your capacity,
Strength, and sagacity,
Faith, hope, and confidence, stern pertinacity,
If neither cold, poverty, famished and gaunt,
Nor sickness nor pain
Of body and brain
Can turn you away from the Blog Award that you want,
If dogged and grim you besiege and beset it,
You'll get that Blog Award. You can bet on it!
(*..by which I mean 'borrowed and slightly edited it', from here!) We'll either soar to new heights or..it'll be a car-crash for us!
Thanks for reading, Sharon.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MGQ!
"There was one lesson that we learned when we were in government. And that was that the British will promise you the sun, moon and stars, and then at the last moment try and put in something, or change something. And it was like that in history, everything I'd learned in school was coming true. Every time the Irish and themselves (the British) made a deal, they would do something at the end to screw it up!" - Maire Geoghegan-Quinn (pictured), Fianna Fáil, in an interview in 'The Sunday Business Post', 12th May, 1996, page 26.Happy Birthday, Marie - 68 today, Wednesday 5th September 2018. And no mention, of course, in your above quote, of all the times since the foundation of this corrupt State that you and yours in Fianna Fáil have done "deals" with Westminster to assist in securing their continued military and political presence in this country. But then you are fond of doing 'deals' which you must hope will not be made public : '...(he) branded the commissioner (Maire Geoghegan-Quinn) "arrogant" for her initial refusal to even comment on the fact taxpayers provide her with two pensions, a ministerial one (€62,945) and a TD's one (€44,380), despite being paid €243,338 for being in the EU cabinet..' (from here). Those figures amount to €7306 a week, and that's not counting whatever 'expenses' she claims in her new 'job'.
Let me do what I wanna do, I can't decide 'em all
Just tell me where to put the money and I'll tell you who to call
Nobody can get no sleep, there's someone on everyone's toes
But when Quinn the politician gets here, everybody's gonna wanna doze..' (from here, slightly edited.)
And Marie is in good (!) company in regards to politicians pensions, lump sums and golden handshakes : 'The taxpayer paid out close to €20m last year in pensions, lump sums, and other retirement benefits to former politicians..the €19.67m bill was inflated by large golden handshakes for TDs and senators who retired or lost their seats in the last general election..thirteen politicians received more than €200,000 last year, their payments boosted by generous retirement lump sums available from the Oireachtas...the largest individual pensions are still being paid to former taoisigh Brian Cowen and Bertie Ahern - both received annual pensions of €134,500 last year, made up of their pensions from the Oireachtas and from the Department of Finance for their time as ministers and as taoiseach...' (from here). And these are the type of characters that want you to vote next month (October 2018) for either one of them or for one of their colleagues, in the Free State presidential election (€5000 a week salary). Do as we do - claim your ballot paper on the day and write 'NOTA' on it. Don't vote for them to have a lifestyle that we can't afford to pay for.
''SINN FÉIN IS EVERYTHING ITS NAME IMPLIES - GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE....!'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, October 1954.
AMERICA PROPPING UP THE EMPIRE....
A more sinister aspect of the Senator's 'misunderstanding' appeared on September 24th when it was announced that a U.S. naval task force, including an aircraft carrier and six destroyers, had arrived in Derry for intensified training. So this is the American idea of 'preservation of Irish freedom' ; to send forces to co-operate with and support the English invader.
We know they were there during the recent war, and they had no right then any more than now - but they could use the war as an excuse. Since then U.S. forces in the North have been gradually cleared out, but apparently this policy is to be reversed. It is time we had some blunt speaking about this.
We have heard great talk about the Communist puppet governments in East Germany, Austria, Hungary etc , propped up by the Red Army. The U.S. forces in Ireland are doing precisely the same job as the Red Army in those countries. The fact which must be faced is that you cannot preserve freedom by destroying it or helping another to destroy it... (MORE LATER.)
NEWS, COMMENTS ETC.
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, February 1955.
'AN CUMANN CABHRAC...
Collection details - Athlone £19 12 shillings 0 pence, Monaghan £92 19 9, Nenagh and District £242 9 0, Ardfinnan £16 3 0, Laoighis (part) £225 0 0, Donegal £94 16 10, Strabane £50 0 0, Derry £82 0 0, Sligo £64 2 0.
MAYO - Westport, Castlebar £91 5 2, Meath £49 3 11, NCA collection £198 12 0, RA Committee New York £100 0 0, Tyrone Men's Social Benefit Patriotic Society Philladelphia £63 16 7, Benevolent IRA Association £100 0 0. (END of 'An Cumann Cabhrach' - next ; 'Back To Wolfe Tone', from the same source.)
VIEW FROM THE HILLTOP CAFE...
A cafe at Drumcree and the insights it offers into the Orangemen who frequent it. Carl Whyte paid a visit. From 'Magill' magazine, July 2002.
Throughout its history, the 'Orange Order' has enjoyed a powerful position within society. The problem of restrictions on parades is much wider than that at Drumcree ; parades are being re-routed throughout Northern Ireland (sic) and many such bans have led to various levels of civil disturbance. Michael Goodman of the Lower Ormeau Road Concerned Community, a residents group based in Belfast and opposed to parades on the nationalist Lower Ormeau Road, dismisses the view that Catholics ever watched Orange marches. He cites historical evidence which records civil disturbance as far back as 1920 in the Lower Ormeau Road.
He denies also that residents groups are a front for Sinn Féin, and claims that the main reason the residents in the Lower Ormeau decided to oppose the parades was after the death of five civilians shot by the UFF in a bookmaker's outlet on the Ormeau Road. Later that year, at an Orange parade, a female associate member danced outside that bookmaker shop shouting "five nil!, five nil!" , referring to the UFF murders.
Links between residents groups and Sinn Féin, however, are undeniable - Gerard Rice, spokesperson for the Lower Ormeau Road Concerned Community, served four years in prison for possession of explosives and membership of the IRA, although Michael Goodwin claimed he was unaware of that fact. When asked if he could see why some Orangemen would have a problem talking to a former IRA man, he simply replied that "the residents association is more than one person..." (MORE LATER).
ON THIS DAY NEXT WEEK (WEDNESDAY 12TH SEPTEMBER 2018).....
...we won't be posting our usual contribution, and probably won't be in a position to post anything at all until the following Wednesday ; this coming weekend (Saturday/Sunday 8th/9th September) is spoke for already with a 650-ticket raffle to be run for the Dublin Executive of RSF in a venue on the Dublin/Kildare border (work on which begins on the Tuesday before the actual raffle) and the 'autopsy' into same which will take place on Monday evening, 10th, in Dublin, meaning that we will not have the time to post here. But we'll be back, as stated above, on Wednesday 19th September 2018, providing nothing else catches our fancy between now and then - so we hope you can hold on until the 19th..!
Thanks for reading, Sharon.
An Anti-Internment / POW information rally will be held before the All-Ireland Football Final on Sunday 2nd September next. Assemble outside Gills Bar beside Croke Park at 1.30pm. All Welcome!
"All men are born with equal rights, and in associating together to protect one another and share public burdens, justice demands that such associations should rest upon a basis which maintains equality instead of destroying it. We therefore declare that, unable longer to endure the curse of monarchical government, we aim at founding a republic, based on universal suffrage, which shall secure to all the intrinsic value of their labour" - Fenian Proclamation 1867.
ON THIS DATE (29TH AUGUST) 215 YEARS AGO : DEATH OF A 'UNITED IRISHMEN' FOUNDER.
'Samuel Neilson was a son of a Presbyterian clergyman, the Rev Alexander Neilson, who ministered the congregation in the Ballyroney (County Down) meeting house, close to the town of Rathfriland. Existing accounts suggest he was born in 1761, but the family Bible and church records state that September 1762 was the date of his birth...the young Neilson would follow his older brother, John, to Belfast, and he was apprenticed in the textile business that would make the brothers wealthy citizens of the town. As a Presbyterian, Neilson was - like his co-religionists in the growing commercial port - unable to vote for the town's two MPs in the Irish parliament, who were elected by a handful of people appointed by the borough's owner, the Marquess of Donegall.
The sense of injustice grew during the years that regular troops were withdrawn to serve in north America against the armies of George Washington. To fill the void, volunteer companies were raised across Ireland, and these soon engaged in political debate as the anticipated invasion by France, Britain's traditional enemy, failed to materialise...calls for a reform of the Irish parliament in Dublin struck a chord with the politically literate Presbyterians and a process of intense politicisation began...' (from here.)
On the 18th October 1791, a group of socially-minded Protestants, Anglicans and Presbyterians, including the then 30-year-old Samuel Neilson, held their first public meeting in Belfast and formed themselves as 'The Belfast Society of United Irishmen' (the organisation became a secret society three years later), electing Sam McTier as 'President' ; he was married to Martha, who was a sister of William Drennan.
The aims and objectives of the Society were revolutionary for the times that were in it, and brought the organisation to the attention of the less 'socially-minded' political (and military) members of the British ruling-class in Dublin, which was then (and, indeed, now!) England's political power-base in Ireland. The intention of those present at that meeting is best summed-up by this statement from the minutes (which would have been relayed, one way or another, to the Dublin Castle 'authorities') - "That the weight of English influence in the government of this country is so great, as to require a cordial union among all the people of Ireland, to maintain that balance which is essential to the preservation of our liberties and the extension of our commerce...the sole constitutional mode by which this influence can be opposed, is by a complete and radical reform of the representation of the people in Parliament...no reform is just which does not include every Irishman of every religious persuasion.."
The Belfast Society also adopted the Charter of 'The United Irishmen' as a whole, and in so doing they drew further attention on themselves from their political enemies, at home and abroad – 'In the present era of reform, when unjust governments are falling in every quarter of Europe, when religious persecution is compelled to abjure her tyranny over conscience, when the rights of men are ascertained in theory, and theory substantiated by practice, when antiquity can no longer defend absurd and oppressive forms, against the common sense and common interests of mankind, when all governments are acknowledged to originate from the people, and to be so far only obligatory, as they protect their rights and promote their welfare, we think it our duty, as Irishmen to come forward, and state what we feel to be our heavy grievance, and what we know to be its effectual remedy.'
'We have no national government, we are ruled by Englishmen, and the servants of Englishmen, whose object is the interest of another country, whose instrument is corruption, and whose strength is the weakness of Ireland ; and these men have the whole of the power and patronage of the country, as means to seduce and subdue the honesty of her representatives in the legislature. Such an extrinsic power, acting with uniform force, in a direction too frequently opposite to the true line of our obvious interest, can be resisted with effect solely by unanimity, decision, and spirit in the people, qualities which may be exerted most legally, constitutionally, efficaciously, by the great measure, essential to the prosperity and freedom of Ireland, an equal representation of all the people in parliament. Impressed with these sentiments...we do pledge ourselves to our country, and mutually to each other...impressed with these sentiments...we do pledge ourselves to our country, and mutually to each other..'
And, in 1791, with those words, the assembled Irishmen – Theobald Wolfe Tone, Thomas Russell, William Sinclair, Henry Joy McCracken, Samuel Neilson, Henry Haslett, Gilbert McIlveen, William and Robert Simms, Thomas McCabe, Thomas Pearce and Samuel McTier, among others, ensured the continuity of the on-going struggle against the British military and political presence in Ireland.
In 1796, when he was 35 years of age, Samuel Neilson was touted on to the Dublin 'authorities' by the informer William Bird (aka 'John Smith') and imprisoned in Kilmainham Jail in Dublin. He served 18 months and, although in bad health and financially ruined on his release in February 1798, he continued his work with the United Irishmen and, in May that same year, was imprisoned again by the British. He was held in Ireland for a few months and then transported to Fort George Prison in Scotland in 1799 and, in 1802, he was shipped out again, this time to Hamburg, in Germany, where he was left to his own devices. He managed to return to Ireland, unbeknown to the 'Crown', to settle his affairs as best he could. He then made his way, eventually, to New York, in America, where he became involved in journalism. He was now a weakened man, and that city was stricken with 'Yellow Fever', so he left New York proper and travelled to the 'countryside' - Dutchess County, in southeastern New York.
For their country thus left to the brute and the slave,
Drive the demon of bigotry home to his den,
And where Britain made brutes now let Éirinn make men...
''SINN FÉIN IS EVERYTHING ITS NAME IMPLIES - GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE....!'
From 'The United Irishman' newspaper, October 1954.
AMERICA PROPPING UP THE EMPIRE.
Senator A. Wiley (Republican) Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, visited Belfast on September 10th to discuss with the Stormont Government "questions of mutual concern".
During his visit he said : "I am hoping that neither partition nor other local issues in any country becomes so oversized that the people lose sight of the greater issues for the time being - the unity and preservation of their own freedom."
This statement shows such a misunderstanding of the Irish position that we feel it necessary to enlighten him. The task facing the Irish people is to attain their freedom and to secure the unity of their country. When these have been obtained then we will make plans to preserve them, but they must first of all be obtained.
They can only be obtained when we have persuaded, by argument or otherwise, the occupation forces of America's ally, England, to withdraw. When these forces have withdrawn then perhaps we may enter into discussions on world freedom. But, while they remain, no amount of platitudes or politicians' cliches will cloak the fact that we must get rid of the aggressor already within our gates before starting to consider possible aggression from other sources... (MORE LATER.)
ON THIS DATE (29TH AUGUST) 68 YEARS AGO : THE MAN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE 'SPRING TIDE' IS BORN.
And sure why wouldn't he play a game of golf on his birthday? Only a begrudger might say otherwise. And a begrudger might also say that the man could play golf everyday if he wanted to, considering he scored a 'hole-in-one' years ago with his pension(s) (and he's also still in a paid 'job'!) - whether he's collecting one or the other (or both!), it must make the arduous journey around the green easier to put up with.
But the 'Birthday Boy' apparently had a harder 'journey' on the hustlings a few decades ago, according to the 'IN DUBLIN' magazine 'Election Special', 1987 :
'Nobody noticed how Ruairi Quinn hi-jacked Dick Spring's itinerary that day. The plan that had been laid out for Dick in advance included a visit to Ruairi, but when everybody arrived Ruairi had an alternative sheet prepared which he gave to journalists. Other than to have a stand-up row about it, there was really no choice but to go along with the new plan, which included a fair amount of publicity for Ruairi himself, who may not be returned in this election. There was even talk that he might have found himself 'a job' in the event of being made redundant by the electorate.
It's hardly a month since Dick Spring sat at the cabinet table, but in the minds of the Labour Party ministers they have distanced themselves from those awful days. Nowadays, posters of Dick show the man with an open shirt - a 'Good Man Of The People' - : his moustache is trimmed, to give it a tamer if sharper look. On the posters at least, the working class hero has finally come home to roost. The day is dark and cold when the bus leaves Labour Party Headquarters ; Dick Spring steps out - 'People of Ireland, I love you..'. On the bus, the RTE cameras start to roll as the vehicle makes its way down Dorset Street. Passers-by look with amazement as they see James Connolly's successor (!) answering questions, facing into a camera, in a bus moving through the early morning traffic. Dick has own reservations about touring in buses, and what effect it has on people but, since the other parties do it, Labour would not seem to have a choice. It is a travelling circus.
...and we feel as if we have 'lived there', it feel's like 'our home', and, yes, we have 'learned to eat and walk at the same time'! The five of us holiday there, each year, if we can all manage it, but sometimes life intervenes and if one of us is 'injured' by that intervention then the five of us are voluntarily grounded, until such time as all of us are available. That's how much we value each other's company and how much we treasure our shared NYC time in a city that encourages us to express our dependence on each other and our near-dependence on the city itself. Yeah, we got the bug and we got it bad!
But OMG!! (as they repeatedly say over there and, unfortunately, here, too, in a 'Friends'-type accent..) - what a month we had ; landed in JFK on Saturday, 21st July last, early afternoon according to their timepieces, and were nearly mobbed in Arrivals by Joel, Kev and Malcolm, who insisted on catchin' up on the gossip by going for something light to eat and a few drinks (we didn't argue!) and we spent a very enjoyable two hours or thereabouts in 'An Tigín' in JFK : I had the fish and chips and two (small-ish!) bottles of cider and what a brilliant start it was for us : eight of us having the craic, fantastic company, lovely food, a few drinks and great conversations all round ; no better cure for the jet-lag!
And then - eventually! - out to the two JC's that were going to take us to East Harlem for our first week, and what a week that was : street (and roof-top) parties with the same neighbours and their friends that we party with on all our visits to that beautiful neighbourhood, visits to the Harlem River Park and the Art park, shopping, pubs, clubs, shopping (!!) and evening chats on the 'sidewalk' with the locals, who were as interested in hearing about life in Ireland as we were in hearing about their life in East Harlem. But all good things come to an end...except, in our case, thankfully, the good things were to continue in the Bronx, for our second week : Joel, Shay and Emma collected us (and our shopping - two cars needed again, two trips required, as we hadn't got our purchases properly packed, far too busy to be doing stuff like that at the time!) and, after very many hugs on the Street, we were whisked off to a spare 3-bed apartment they own in Allerton, in the Bronx, where the locals threw a lil' surprise (!) to welcome us back to their area and the party continued : took the five of us (and Joel, God Bless the man's patience!) and Emma a few hours to move our gear in and sort of sort it out...we had things to do, people to see and places to go and we just couldn't be bothered 'putting our house in order', and then we were let out to explore, again, that part of the Bronx - the shops, the parks, the buildings, the pubs and the restaurants and the many bodega's where we had made friends and had the craic with the owner and his/her family during previous stays in that beautiful neighbourhood and where, this time, as usual, we were loudly welcomed back with high fives, handshakes and BIG hugs! And, again, the five of us settled right in because, I believe - among other shared attributes - Bronxites (and Harlemites) and us Irish share the same outlook on life and a shared sense of humour to match : we value and treasure every second we share with them.
But, before we knew it, in what felt like hours instead of a week, we needed two people-carriers again, as our time in the Bronx was up - took us the best part of a day to leave ( loads of 'slán go fóill anois' rather than 'goodbye') and we were whisked off to Hell's Kitchen where Liz, Susie, their husbands, family and neighbours were out on the footpath ('sidewalk!) waiting to greet us and that mad crowd don't do things by half - there was about 25 of us still outside the three-bed duplex about an hour after we arrived when a cop car pulled in, having noticed the crowd, and asked was everything ok : we asked the two officers to call back at the end of the week to check with us again, but to leave whatever warrants they had for us behind at the 18th Precinct!
And then we explored - the buildings, the Streets, the Avenues, the basketball and handball courts in the local parks, the kids playgrounds...and a few pubs and restaurants and, of course, the shopping centres and street markets and, between the Annex and Lexington street markets and all the other places we shopped, we were hoping that Joel also had a mini-bus in his garage! That was our daytime activity - retail therapy (!) - then, at night (and into the wee hours!) we let rip in 'Clinton' (Ha!) with Liz and Sue and their husbands and their kids and the neighbours and their kids and Goddam! if the same two cops didn't pull in besides us on one of the night/early morning rampages we were prone to and asked were the five of us okay, enjoying ourselves etc etc and enquiring about Ireland! We were over an hour on the side of the road/street/avenue chatting to each other, having the craic, and we have the pics and video* to prove it...but they're ours to treasure!
And, again, before we knew it, it was time to say slán go fóill anois to Hell's Kitchen and the crazy mob (with whom we had partied one night in Union Square Park, pictured - about twenty of us, dancin' under the stars...!) and the operation to move us and our ever-increasing baggage to the last stop of our 2018 NYC Tour - Queens. We needed four vehicles this time (!) and, because Joel and the two hubbies and Kevin and Mel and the neighbours helped us to load up, we managed the transition in one go. Bit tight, but we done it! And Heno, Larry and their lady friends were waiting for us at a gorgeous apartment in Murray Hill - it took us the best part of a day to leave Hell's Kitchen and get ourselves settled in
Queens but only took us minutes to get out onto the street and start exploring. We called into our old haunts, high-fives and hugs all round, visited the parks and the shopping centres and the bodegas and the pubs and clubs and made it our business to meet and greet the various different groups of locals that we had last shared company with in 2016...and it was as if we hadn't been absent. Old friends, some unfortunately missing, new arrivals : part of their world, and they were part of ours.
(*Talking about holiday videos, here's one [a second ('Facebook') link to that video here] taken by visitors to Buckingham Palace, London : those tourists captured the true nature of the British 'royal' family and how they spend some of the taxpayers money they leech from the public purse - on what appears to be a 'rent boy'. Just try and ignore the girls laughing as the poor young man tries to escape - the two ladies probably thought it was part of the 'show'.)
