Irish Emigrant Book Review, No.64 (Nov 2000)

KEVIN MYERS by Kevin Myers
- A quick poll among my colleagues confirms the belief that one either loves the writings of Kevin Myers or vehemently dislikes them, and fortunately I fall into the former category. This is a collection of the journalist’s column in the Irish Times, “An Irishman’s Diary”, which covers a legion of subjects including the overrunning of the heritage sites of Ireland by golf courses and the glories of Phoenix Park in its different seasons. His mood can swing from a celebration of the rather sad glories of a Lincolnshire Abbey to a damning description of Skegness and its “temporary population... all tattoo and Park Drive and perms and Suns and baseball hats and bellies bursting through T-shirts”. A few themes recur, the desecration caused to both buildings and liturgy in the Catholic Church since Vatican II, the way in which the nation chose to forget the 35,000 Irishmen and women who died during the First World War, and the total chaos that governs our roads and those who use them. Of course since he revels in controversy Kevin Myers puts forward the unfashionable view that we should be allowed to drink and drive as long as we are not a danger to other road users. He does have an altruistic motive for holding this opinion, the preservation of the country pub, although giving it the title “A Modest Proposal about Drink-driving” should give a hint as to the seriousness of his intent.
The collection of columns is grouped into a number of categories, with at least two focusing on personalities, some admired, some execrated; perhaps the only slightly sour note, as opposed to a tongue-in-cheek denunciation of a particular person, is Myers’ counter attack on Senator David Norris following a letter of criticism from the senator. He weakens his case by commenting on grammatical mistakes in Norris’ letter rather than just refuting the arguments one by one, and the reader is left with the impression that this was a criticism too far for the normally resilient journalist. Overall, however, this collection of well-crafted essays provides food for thought, entertainment, humour and sound sense, and is particularly enjoyable since the author’s stance on a particular subject is seldom predictable.

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FOR LOVE OR MONEY by Fr. Tony Flannery
- Fr Flannery’s “From the Inside” caused quite a stir when it was published last year, setting out as it did a stark view of the Catholic Church by a priest still active in the ministry. In “For Love or Money”, he has taken many of the themes dealt with in that book and fused them into a fictional account of the lives of the few remaining members of a religious order still living in a monastery built for hundreds. Only six priests and one lay brother remain in St Carthage’s and each reflects a particular aspect of the Church’s difficulties in the modern world. The narrative opens with the death by suicide of Fr Kevin, and it is later revealed that he had been struggling to accept his homosexuality for most of his life. Fr Jack has become involved with a woman and for much of the time feels no guilt; Fr Matthew, the superior, is a man who avoids trouble at all costs and is easily influenced by the villain of the piece, Fr Brendan, the worldly and avaricious member of the community who reflects the modern obsession with financial gain. While the story-line of itself is well developed, the characters fail somehow to become three dimensional and for me this detracts from the success of the novel. The overbearing Fr Brendan is almost too predictable, as is Fr Matthew, though one does have some sympathy with the characters of Fr Jack and the aged Fr George. Fr Enda, who is used in some degree to link the other characters, is also lacking in substance. The details of the plot, the suicide, an illicit love affair, shady financial dealings and a bid to recoup losses, make for an interesting novel and the author does not fall into the trap of tidying up too many loose ends in the final chapters, but a greater degree of character development would have made for a more compelling novel.

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ASTRIDE THE MOON by Vincent Dowling
- Vincent Dowling will perhaps best be remembered by an older generation as Christy in RTE’s long-running radio serial “The Kennedys of Castlerosse” but his theatrical career has encompassed both stage and film in Britain and America as well as his native Dublin. Here he became Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre and as a member of the Players Council was instrumental in bringing about a strike in protest at Ernest Blythe’s management of the theatre. This industrial action had a successful outcome, leading to the appointment of Walter Macken as the government-nominated board member, though another attempt, when he placed a picket on RTE in protest at the demise of “The Kennedys of Castlerosse” proved to be less successful. While Dowling was always politically aware, and had early in his career become a member of the Labour Party, his first love was the theatre and his autobiography reads like a catalogue of Irish theatrical greats, from Lennox Robinson to Siobhan McKenna, from Brendan Behan to Micheal MacLiammoir. He followed the traditional path of travelling around the country with “fit-ups”, with all the usual experiences of myriad local halls of varying merit and a cast of idiosyncratic landladies, while augmenting his earnings with some radio, and later television, work. At the same time he was mixing with up and coming politicians such as Brian Lenihan, Des O’Malley and Charlie Haughey, all of whom came to his aid in his later dispute at the Abbey.
What makes this biography different from other theatrical biographies, however, is the pace of the narrative and the picture Vincent Dowling conveys of his native city over five decades. We are given a strong portrait of his family, their triumphs as well as their problems, as we are of his own family after his marriage to Brenda, a fellow actor. The narrative is then interspersed with a seemingly endless parade of infidelities which invoked in this reader some sympathy for his wife, until further chapters revealed that such sympathy was probably entirely misplaced. Eventually the marriage finished, Dowling remarried an American and made the decision to base his artistic career on that continent, moving there permanently in the 1970s. And it was in Sacramento that he encouraged the acting talent of a young college student called Tom Hanks, who in the preface to the book perhaps sums up Vincent Dowling’s place in theatrical life: “Vincent Dowling, God bless him, carries the theater with him wherever he is.”

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LOCKOUT DUBLIN 1913 by Padraig Yeates
- Not for the faint-hearted, or for those without at least some interest in the history of the trade union movement in Ireland, Padraig Yeates’ 600-page record of the bitter dispute between workers and employers in 1913 Dublin sets the event in the context of other political developments of the time. The two main, and opposing, characters, Jim Larkin and William Martin Murphy, act according to their own deeply-held beliefs, the one promoting his “fiery cross” campaign to gain a fair wage and living conditions for the labour force, the other endeavouring to maintain the position of power allied with profit enjoyed by the members of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce. The narrative is evidence of the extensive research carried out by the author, including as it does verbatim newspaper reports and minutes of meetings held by a number of associated bodies. Two events of the lockout struck me in particular, the ferocity of police reaction to the strikers on the first of this country’s Bloody Sundays, which led to the death of union member James Nolan, and Dora Montefiore’s “Dublin kiddies” scheme. This latter scheme provoked extraordinary scenes at the capital’s railway stations and ports, where outraged Catholic clergymen accused the well-meaning women of kidnapping children to send them to “pagan” England, and forcibly returned them to their parents. While this action from the clergy did nothing to help the wives and children of those on strike, a more senior member had a more positive influence on the course of events. Dr William Walsh, Archbishop of Dublin, kept himself abreast of all developments and constantly searched for a means to end the deadlock.
A significant amount of aid was sent to striking workers and their families in Dublin by British trade unions, and indeed it was this aid which enabled the leaders to prolong the industrial action. However William Martin Murphy was also able to call on outside forces for help, and in his case it was the Shipping Federation, the main employers’ body in England, who brought in extra labourers to replace those on strike. Events both within and beyond Dublin, the campaign for home rule, the setting up of the Ulster Volunteers by Sir Edward Carson, the threat of partition and finally the threat of war in Europe, all influenced the course of events which led to the gradual drifting back to work of labourers in Dublin in the early months of 1914. While the ITGWU had a number of notable leaders, including James Connolly and William O’Brien, there is little doubt that it was Jim Larkin who was the great inspiration. He had, according to the author, “a unique ability to move audiences by the spirit of his message rather than the mere words” and he gave them “a grander vision of the future they were striving to achieve”.

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THE DUBLIN & MONAGHAN BOMBINGS by Don Mullan
- This meticulously researched account of the 1974 bombings which killed thirty-three people in Dublin and Monaghan, and the apparent lack of investigation following the atrocities, makes compelling reading. The opening chapters are taken up with first-hand accounts of survivors of the bombing and of relatives of those who died, and the harrowing descriptions immediately put one in mind of the later atrocity at Omagh, the 1974 survivors often poignantly contrasting their own perceived neglect with the national and international attention paid to the 1998 bombing. There follows a series of pen portraits of those who died, by their relatives, almost all of whom express sorrow, anger and bewilderment at the way in which the authorities have failed to pursue those who perpetrated the outrage. Two television programmes are also extensively chronicled, Yorkshire Television’s “Hidden Hand: The Forgotten Massacre”, shown in 1993, and RTE’s 1995 Prime Time programme “Friendly Forces?” What emerges from the latter two sections, and the author’s own investigations, is the strong possibility of a blocking of evidence in order to conceal ongoing co-operation between the British forces and the militant loyalists in the North. The survivors of the 1974 bombings, who have formed themselves into a group called Justice for the Forgotten, are calling on the government to institute a public inquiry into the investigations following the bombing, and so far they have succeeded in procuring an Oireachtas Committee hearing and the setting up in January of this year by the then Chief Justice Liam Hamilton of an Independent Commission of Inquiry. The group will continue, however, to press for a full public inquiry into the 1974 bombings in order that they may “close the door” on that chapter of their lives.

INSIDE THE MAZE by Chris Ryder
- While mainly dealing with the Maze prison, Chris Ryder’s book gives a good overview of the history of prisons in Northern Ireland, from the time when responsibility was handed over to the newly convened parliament in 1921 by the Lord Lieutenant in Dublin. It chronicles the development from the “academy of terrorism” which was the Maze in the early years of the present troubles to Maghaberry, which the author describes as “proving to be a forceful powerhouse of peace”. The Maze itself, originally known as Long Kesh, started life as an airfield during World War Two and in 1971 it was renovated for use as an internment camp. One remarkable feature of the prison is the number of escapes that have been attempted over the years, most notably the mass escape in 1983 which involved a total of 38 prisoners. The introduction of the special category status in 1972 and its cancellation four years later; the construction of the H-blocks; the blanket protest, believed by the author to be “the most enduring and acrimonious confrontations between terrorism and government in the entire history of the Twentieth century”; the dirty protest and the hunger strikes; are all described in detail, as is the military style organisation of the loyalist and republican prisoners within the prison. The prison officers are described as being almost as much prisoners as the inmates, given the long hours they had to work due to a shortage of staff and the frequent eruption of trouble among the prisoners. Chris Ryder has brought us to the present day with the early release of prisoners following the Good Friday Agreement and the number of suggestions which have been put forward as to what should now be done with the Maze - a shrine to the hunger strikers, a tourist attraction, a race track to commemorate Joey Dunlop. However the general consensus, that the Maze prison should be demolished and redeveloped, appears to have been accepted and this week saw the beginning of the demolition process.

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FAVOURITE POEMS WE LEARNED AT SCHOOL ed. Thomas F. Walsh
- Thomas F. Walsh has produced a series of books of favourite poems over the past eight years, in both English and Irish, and the latest edition includes photographs taken from a number of noted collections including those of Fr Browne and the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. Wordsworth’s “The Daffodils”, Thomas Hood’s “I Remember, I Remember” and Thomas Moore’s “She is Far from the Land” feature in this miniature anthology which would make a perfect stocking present this Christmas.

OGHAM by Susan Connolly & Anne-Marie Moroney
- Subtitled “Ancestors Remembered in Stone”, this small and beautifully illustrated volume sets out to elucidate through verse the mysteries of the Ogham script as it is found on standing stones, most usually commemorating the person named. The Batik paintings and charcoal drawings are the work of Anne-Marie Moroney while poet Susan Connolly has supplied the script, with each complementing and reflecting the other.

A VIEW FROM ABOVE by Donal MacCarron
- “A View From Above” records the history of aviation in Ireland from the early balloonists of the 18th century to the proposed introduction of the 555-seater A3XX-100. Concentrating on the Republic, on the grounds that the history of aviation in the North deserves its own volume, the author has gathered together photographs which illustrate the gradual development of aviation in this country, both in its leisure and commercial aspects. Denys Corbett Wilson, a Kilkenny man who had learned his flying in France, is featured as the main attraction at Kilcash Sports in 1912, when flying had become a spectacle to be enjoyed by the masses. A more serious use for the new form of transport arose during the First World War, when Major Sholto Douglas spent some time selecting suitable sites in Ireland for airfields to be used by the Royal Flying Corps. One particularly interesting story concerns the devising of a getaway plan for Michael Collins’ visit to London for the signing of the Treaty, using a plane flown by a former RAF pilot. Famous flights originating in Ireland include that of Charles Kingsford-Smith, who took off from Portmarnock to cross the Atlantic, while the development of Shannon Airport, the flying boats at Foynes and the national airline, Aer Lingus, are given extensive coverage.

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FR BROWNE’S SHIPS AND SHIPPING ed. E. E. O’Donnell
- The quality of Fr Browne’s work is not in dispute though the subject matter of this collection would seem to be somewhat specialised. However for those interested in shipping, large and small, there is plenty of interest, and separate sections on leisure, landscape and people make the book more generally attractive. Many of the photographs were taken prior to Fr Browne’s famous Titanic series, while others date from his journey, for health reasons, to Australia. Although he spent a good deal of his time in what was then Queenstown, Fr Browne also captured on film a variety of vessels at different ports in Ireland and Scotland up to 1954 and these seem to give a flavour of the first half of this century better than the more formal photographs of ocean going liners.

CARDINAL THOMAS WINNING by Vivienne Belton
- The cardinal who, according to the author, had little personal ambition but had greatness thrust upon him, is a man who has never been afraid to state his views, however unpopular they may make him. Born in Lanarkshire, Scotland seventy-five years ago, Thomas Winning was marked out early for promotion, having been sent back to Rome for further studies a few years after his ordination there. He started his priestly ministry at the age of twenty-three and was given his first parish, St Luke’s Church in Motherwell, at the age of forty- one. Just five years later came his appointment as Auxiliary Bishop to Archbishop Scanlan, one of the more colourful characters portrayed in this book, and in 1974, when he was still under fifty years of age, he was consecrated Archbishop of the Glasgow diocese. Twenty years later he succeeded Cardinal Grey to the College of Cardinals and, indeed, it has been suggested that he could be a possible successor at St Peter’s. Despite the obvious success of his priestly “career”, Cardinal Winning has had to deal with a number of difficulties over the years, and not just those caused by his outspoken views on such subjects as abortion, integrated education and the morality of the Gulf War. He was instrumental in implementing in the Scottish Church the ideas arising from the Second Vatican Council, his greatest triumph was in persuading Pope John Paul II to visit Britain despite the ongoing conflict in The Falklands, while the scandal concerning the Bishop of Argyll and the Isles, Roderick Wright, brought to the cardinal what he described as the worst experience in his twenty-five years as a senior churchman. Vivienne Belton has put a human face on a Church leader who is seen by many to be an unyielding reactionary, recording both the strengths and the weaknesses of this “turbulent priest”.

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THE HEART OF DUBLIN by Peter Pearson
- The author, a founder member of the Dublin Civic Trust, has produced a detailed history of our capital city, taking each area street by street and detailing its origins, development and present condition. For example the houses bordering St Stephen’s Green are described separately, both from an architectural and historical viewpoint while the green itself, we are told, was used as commonage in late mediaeval times and is the largest and oldest square in the city. The destruction of many old Dublin buildings is necessarily included, and many of the excellent illustrations carry the rider “long vanished” or “now demolished”. The bridges over the Liffey are given a section to themselves, from the one bridge shown in a 1661 plan to the sixteen bridges at present fording the Liffey, with two more at the planning stage. While the descriptions of each part of Dublin’s centre are informative and full of interesting detail, it is the 900 illustrations which mark Peter Pearson’s book as an exceptional record of a capital city.

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR by Robert Scott
- In much the same way as Peter Pearson has moved from street to street in Dublin, so Robert Scott moves among Belfast’s parks and shows us how each has developed over the centuries. After an introduction which sets out the origin of public parks, the author begins with a number of Belfast parks up to 1900, including the Ormeau and Falls parks, and the Botanic Gardens. We then move into the 20th century and the setting up of children’s play areas under the auspices of the Open Spaces Subcommittee. One photograph shows members of the Ulster Volunteer Force on parade in 1914 in what is now Glencairn Park, while another depicts men at work in wartime allotments on a site beside the River Lagan now incorporated into the Botanic Gardens. The Lagan Valley estates of Barnett Demesne and Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park, the establishment of Roselawn cemetery and the debate over Sunday opening of public parks all receive attention, while the many illustrations will be particularly appealing to present and former residents of the city.

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