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Two Worthwhile Seasonal Reads
Born and reared in Townsend Street Dublin in 1908, N.P. Kennedy witnessed first-hand the events leading to Irish freedom in the first decades of the last century. So did Sean O’Casey but he wrote plays about it. Did Kennedy write anything?
After his death in 1978 His daughter Ailis, who found the manuscript of The Tragic Isle, says, "This
spans some of the recruitment of World War 1 veterans as auxiliaries to
the RIC (the infamous Black and Tans), through the rebel resistance,
the post- treaty Civil War and final declaration of peace. It is a story
of civil and personal conflict, of love and despair plus courage and
commitment. The book is a valuable legacy for our family, which we would
like to share with you."
The author himself lived through and suffered because of the
turbulence of those troubled times portrayed in the book. His parents
were obliged to close their shop in Townsend Street because of it.
The main character, a British Army WWI veteran, Bernard
Thompson, like many survivors of that terrible conflict, finds himself
down and out on the streets of London, jobless, hungry and homeless. He
is given an opportunity to “serve in Ireland”. The details of
his posting were scant and untruthful. He found himself operating as
an auxiliary to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) during Ireland’s War
of Independence and was disheartened and appalled by the actions of his
fellow “recruits.” He is left for dead after his patrol is ambushed and
he is rescued by the same rebel forces that he is expected to suppress.
Bernard is brought to a rebel household, where he is brought to, and
slowly regains his health. As he recovers, he acquires an understanding
of the situation and can see things clearly from the rebels’ viewpoint
and becomes sympathetic to their cause. From his first day in Ireland
he was aware of how he was misled as to the role to which he had been
enlisted.
Bernard Thompson is eventually trusted by the rebels, joins
them, and becomes one of “the men who fought the Auxies and beat the
Black and Tan”, and later during the Civil War he is told, “My God, Thompson! If only our own flesh and blood had stood by the country as you have done, we'd have won outright by now.”
The Tragic Isle is a historical novel and Bernard
Thompson is a fictional character who, like many of the other people
portrayed, fits the profile of people on both sides.
The events also are merely transplanted from real conflict
with names of people and places given different names. The reprisals of
Balbriggan in county Dublin are faithfully based on real atrocities.
Thanks to The Manuscript Publisher, Ailis Kennedy and her
family we are able to get this well written and informative work of
historical reading, and it’s available online.
* * * * * *
Jarrah Regan is a legend in comedy circles and around the world.
He was the auditor of the Literary and Historical Society in UCD when
he was a student there.
His stand-up comedy career started in 2003 and a year later
he was a finalist for three major UK comedy newcomer awards: So You
Think You’re Funny, BBC New Comedy Awards, and the Chortle Student
Comedian of the Year. Then in 2006, he performed as part of the first
ever Irish gala at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, Canada.
Regan's shows have included 2007's Edinburgh Fringe show "Nobody
Knows..." Jarlath Regan", 2018/19's "Organ Freeman", which chronicled
his experience as a live-organ donor, and 2019/2020's "Notion's Eleven",
which was recorded in Vicar Street for online release in late 2020.
Regan wrote and performed sketches on Scope, an Irish science television programme for teenagers and was a regular panellist during the 2008–2009 season of The Panel. In 2010, he co-presented The Rumour Room, a teen entertainment series part of TRTÉ on RTÉ Two television.
The Gobshite, The horsey set in the plains of Kildare, may not be all that impressed by his account of his native heath: "I
always call the Curragh Ireland's desert, because it's so flat, green,
vast, and isolated. A lot of my memories are of being on my bike and
cycling into a gale force wind attempting to get to Newbridge to see my
friends.” The latest string to his bow will make us all proud of
him. I was on a committee once and my function was to deal with the
media. I called myself "The Gobshite in charge of Bullshit." I was
joking, or thought I was. But it seems I wasn’t. In Regan’s hardback
recently published, "The Gobshite Guidebook," I won’t admit how many of
the 28 pieces in the 183 pages in which I am described. From Celebrity
Goshutes, to Gob Shiites in Relationships, to How Goshutes React in
Emergencies, it’s all there. This is a funny book written by a very
funny man but it contains some very sound serious advice. For instance
how to Spot When a Gobshite Is Lying; Seven of the most commonly used
Gobshite lies:
- 1. ‘It was like that when I got here.’
- 2. ‘I heard about a guy who had a similar problem.’
- 3. ‘There seemed to be a bit of confusion/nobody was clear on that.’
- 4. ’I tried but they wouldn’t let me. I swear.’
- 5. ‘I was just thinking the same thing.’
- 6. ‘Will you relax? I definitely checked before I left.’
Some of you have been reading my column for more than twenty
years and no doubt many of you thought that I was a Gobshite. Well,
thanks to Jarlath Regan I’m in a position to tell you that you were
right.
If you have a friend who is a Gobshite give them "The
Gobshite Guidebook for Christmas" and allow them to see themselves as
others see them. And there are others who you are not sure if they fit
the profile. It is an ideal present for them also. Details
at;www.gillbooks.ie
HAPPY CHRISTMAS.
I'll see you next year!
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