We were all philosophers
Our opinions strong and sure
We had no thought of violence
Till war came to our door …
Month: July 2011
15th August: Boat Trip
We were walked along the promenade: there were hundreds of people walking up and down; some sitting on the wall, watching and listening to the pipe-and-accordion bands.
Barney Dan
I do not like the other sort
They’re tricky and they’re sly
An’ couldn’t look you in the face
Whenever they pass by …
Stars Sang in God’s Garden
Many today listen to the song “Grace” without a thought for Joseph Mary Plunkett, the 1916 Easter Rising leader and martyr, yet he is the hero of that dirgeful ballad (though not, of course, its author). It is still sung at almost every Irish wedding and weekly in Singing Lounges throughout the length and breadth of the country. Even as I type, the tune runs through my head.
Hiccupping Lou
The Longstone Band was marching down the middle of the road. We swayed to the swirl of the pipes and the roll of the drums. We marched with the band around The Square, along Church Street and down to the Public Baths.
Robert Bell, Ulster amateur geologist
As we await with some anxiety the coming Orange marching season and especially Tuesday’s threatened Ardoyne confrontation, we recall the dreadful events of 1886 when Gladstone’s Home Rule bill was in the offing and rabble-rousers like Rev Hugh Hanna were stirring up emotions.
15th August
A tale of events one 15th August, some 70 years ago …
My eighth birthday was approaching when Mammy said:
Dart the Bull
When we arrived at Crieve ‘Dart’ Sands was standing in the compound with a smile on his face like a Cheshire cat. Services rendered I paid Mr Sands ten shillings and sixpence.