It Occurs to Me: 'A quare bit of hokin’

I was delighted and honoured to see Joseph Brennan’s complimentary letter in the Democrat last week, and it brought back many memories of that famous broadcasting trip to Fintown.

I had a look through my notes and came across this from a few years ago, when I shared a poem from Doochary native Dominic O’Kelly, the full text of which is framed on the wall of the Fintown Railway offices...sung to the air of Galway Bay. Dominic, a teacher by profession, ended his days in Downings, and I recall his wonderful poems and stories, many of them published in ‘Mevagh Down The Years’.

He wrote his railway song just after the Glenties railway line closed to passenger traffic in June 1947.

The line remained open to freight with approximately two trains a day carrying turf, barrels, shop provisions, wool and other goods but its final closure came in 1952.

The Treasurer of the Fintown Railway is Seamus McElwee, who on his return to the area in the early nineties, became involved with Joe Brennan and others in an attempt to reinvigorate the old station and environs. Brian Friel cut the sod in 1993, and Michael Sweeney was hired through FAS as the supervisor. In 1995, I travelled with a crew from BBC Radio Ulster to do a feature on the railway, and Michael delivered what I still treasure as one of the best lines ever uttered on radio.

I remarked how difficult it must have been for he and his fellow workers laying track along the lake, when he smiled and said: “Aye, we did a quare bit of hokin’ Frank...it was hard tough work...but fair play to the Council, they introduced us to a very modern piece of equipment, which speeded things up!”

My Belfast colleagues, Anne Marie McAleese, and producer Maggie Doyle, waited with bated breath to hear what this revolutionary tool was, when Michael winked at me and said: “It was called a crowbar!” Last week, Joseph Brennan had a good laugh about his ‘verbosious’ …ness!

Well, Joe, if it’s any consolation to you, I’m dosed with it myself. To quote a very exasperated English teacher over half a century ago, “Galligan…you’re wallowing in a mire of your own verbosity!”

MEVAGH DOWN THE YEARS

Mention of Mevagh and Dominic O’Kelly reminds me that two of my most treasured possessions are ‘Mevagh Down The Years’, first published in 1962 and ‘More About Mevagh’ in 1982, by the late Leslie W. Lucas.

As my father was transferred from Glencolmcille to Churchill in 1982, he was also able to attend the launch of ‘More About Mevagh, and told a very funny story about a ‘mild’ altercation. Leslie had written a chapter about ‘Mevagh Families’ in which he quoted an old poem written by a travelling bard called Michael Corridan.

“The fine figure of the Heraghtys,

The stubbornness of the McClaffertys,

The intellect of the Sheilses,

The boasting of the Carrs.”

That in itself led to a right bit of slagging, but Leslie had also written that “The commonest surname in the parish is probably McBride. The McBrides are known as Clann Mhic Giolla Bhríde na gcipín (the McBrides of the sticks) or na spág mór, the big feet.

They are also called ‘por na ngág’, the breed of the hacks. Leslie also added that the Gallaghers were known as ‘na gcipín dóite, or the burnt sticks.

In any event, drink got the better of a couple of those at the launch, and one serial agitator wondered whether the McBrides had actually burned the Gallagher sticks, whereupon he was warned that he might get a ‘spág mór’ in the arse!

Anyway, it didn’t even get to the ‘handbags’ stage and much laughter and nostalgia ensued.

As Dominic O’Kelly wrote in his poem in the same book, celebrating Downings’ first Junior county win in 1948…”Blow high! Blow low! It goes to show…What Downings men can do.”

THE BACKSHOOTERS STRIKE AGAIN

David Lusted, in “The Book of Westerns” wrote: “In Westerns - back-shooting - shooting an adversary from behind - transgresses the ritual of the gunfight, which demands that an opponent is faced. Backshooters thereby offend not only the code of justice, but against the social codes…by rejecting the public display of fair play.”

Yes unbelievably, there was a code in the Wild West, but unfortunately the dissident cowboys in Omagh adhered only to an old amoral lust for blood, around which they wrap a flag of convenience.

As DCI John Caldwell was leaning into his boot, they fired 10 shots striking him four times, some as he crawled away.

One car belonging to a local man was hit three times, and it was a miracle that the back-shooters didn’t injure or kill other innocents.

Fair play to all the political parties for a very united front and the response from local people at the march last Saturday was no surprise. I love Omagh and its people…I’ve worked there both in broadcasting and in print, and witnessed the devastation, not only of the bomb in August 1998, but the aftermath, when I spoke over the subsequent years with survivors in the Trauma Centre.

Omagh Trades Union Council Secretary Anton McCabe said the rally will reject those who want to take society backwards.

“There must be no going back to the years of violence, fear and injustices. The shooting of John Caldwell, in front of children, was barbaric.

It has traumatised the children who were there. It has opened up the trauma many carry from the past. Those who carry out these actions offer our community death, injury and division.

Workers and young people want better. We want freedom from fear. Those who carried out this shooting have lit a fire that could burn us all. On Tuesday last, hundreds of health and education workers across Northern Ireland showed us the future.

Here in Omagh, they protested at the Courthouse. They were standing together as workers to defend the health and education systems. Their action can make our society a better place.

Their action showed what unites us. Workers and young people in Omagh have a proud tradition of standing together. On Saturday, we will keep up that tradition.”

I spoke with Anton last Monday, not only about the above, but the imminent NI Protocol deal. In the midst of his angst and concerns, he gave me a line which I’ll long treasure: “Sammy Wilson doesn’t know whether he’s a serious politician or a stand-up comedian”.

Earlier in the week, Nigel Farage and Arlene Foster were apoplectic about King Charles meeting Ursula Van Der Leyen. Ursula has grace. That rarely goes down well with the graceless. Let's hope in the month coming up to the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement that the Windsor Framework ensures that the former is even more valid than ever.