Guth & Tuairim, Lúnasa/Meán Fómhair 1981

. / Ard Na gCeapaire TAKEAWAY 10·30 am to 12·00pm Fresh Fish available 6 Ro~rer Casement Seo alt as paipear ;iti~ i Londain faoi chrocadh Roger Casement i bprfosun Pentonville i Sasain i 1916. ' Thug Casement cupla cuairt ar Thfr Chonaill agus bhf cuimhne ag seanbhean as Gaoth Dobhair siul go Gort a' Choirce le !( fheiceail I deanamh Oraid taobh aiTIUigh de Theach Fhobail. (Ta muid bufoch do Phadraig l·lac Ruairf (Nadge) as oilean Thoraf a thug an t-alt seo duinn). Crystal sunshine bathed the stone and steel of I'entonville Prison. C'utside, birds chirruped in the freedom of a clear August morning. Inside, a man was locked in a cell, waiting to die. And he was verY happy. He smiled as his hands were lashed tight behind his back. He was relaxed as he walked to the gallows. And, as he stood with the noose round his neck, he was a man at peace with himself. And at This song was written many :years ago· Annie (Sweeney) Gallagher formerly from Meenbanad aDd who is at present in the old people's Home in FSlcarrach. peace with God. The man was not a murderer. Sir Roger Casement was hanged for t.reason on that summer day in 1916. A few days before his death, Sir Roger had been suffering. Suffering the self-pity and despair of a man condemned to die. As he lay in the lone- liness of his cell, his thoughts were tortured round labyrinths of gloom. And then he turned to God and found happiness. For in his final days ,Sir Roger looked for .help. And he .found it in .the Catholic faith. The factory Girl ; AMH.RAN As I stand by rrry machine I can see the fields so green, And the ruins of the Barracks burned down. I can see the Fair Hill Where our volunteers did drill, it's a market place that overlooks the town. I work here like a slave and I will to rrry grave, As the working-class are always being kept down. The bosses till their puree with the pay they should give us, That's the way with all the bosses in the town. I start to work at eight I' m scolded if r• m late . And ten hours hard work I must face. And if I lirt rrry back It will only mean the sack, Another slave I'm told will take rrry place. The boss she walks about with a fag stuck in her mouth, And roaring on the workers to make more. While ~ stands up to watch With her hands behind her back, At excitements out the window and the door. I wish that we were free And we 1 d .let the bosses see, ~ How quickly we could drive them f'rom our land. ~ He decided that he wanted to die a Catholic, and spoke about it to Pentonville 1 s chaplain, Father Carey••• a man who was used to comforting men waiting , to be executed. Father Carey and Sir Roger talked for a long time about the faith, and during their con– versations, Sir Roge~ mentioned that his mother had been a Catholic. Father Carey went away and _made some inquiries, and returned with wonderful news. Sir Roger , it seemed, was already a Catholic ••• he had been baptised as a small child at a church in Rhyl. All that was needed before Sir Roger's death was for h:iiD to make a confession and receive the sacraments. Cn the day before the execution, Sir Roger walked with Father Carey in the grounds of the prison. With them was Canon Ring, the rector of one of the larg~st Catholic churches in the East End, and friend of . Father Carey, who had come to hear Sir Roger's con– fessions. They talked for a long while and then went to pray in the tiny prison chapel. What the two ~ Churchmen said to Sir Roger we shall never know. But 0 • by the time Sir Roger was taken back to hi~. cell and ~ ~ the door locked behind him, he was happy. H~s gloom ~ u had vanished, his mind was clear. And during his last ~~ night, he slept peacefully and well. ~ 0 Early next morning, just hours before he was to die, ~ ~ Sir Roger went to Hass in the prison chapel. There he received the last sacraments, breaking bread and pray- :!31::l R t aS ing in Communion yith God• After Hass, Sir oger wen ~::3 back to his cell, where Father Carey and Canon Ring ~ were waiting for him. They tall~ed, and the priests t We would tell them lifl should get ~ The price or our sweat, § And not the boss who never soils her hands. ~ ~ noticed how relaxed Sir Roger appeared. There was no ~i tremor in his voice, no shake of his hands. Sir -a t: t ~ I hope I live to see ~ Roger ate ~ hearty breakfast and then the three men ~ ~ prayed together for an hour. They were interrupted ~ '!i» ~ ~ when the cell door was opened nervously and t he 11 .::l til u prison doctor came to ask if there was anything he ,$E.~;. could do. "No," said Sir Roger, cheerful.ly . Next ~ ~~ ~ time the door opened, it opened on the path to the ~ -M ~ 0 !i Old Ireland nice and free, And to have plenty time to enjoy life. Then I can work away Content from day to day, Until some man will pick me for his wire. . Planning Permissions & House Designs Ltd l BXTENDI NG YOUR IIOUSE/BUSINESS PRE::ISES t1D OH 13UILDING A. £,:1",i Otl.t:? . ~ All necessary maps and plans supplied,application .g made for plenning permission, land transfer maps • measured and dra•m "": All house and extension pluns qualify for Local ..., Government and Gaeltacbt grants 01 CONTACT- CHRI::>'riE BOYLE, HARANE.ELid1.DUilGLCE ~ Phone DUNGLOE 55 Rosie Me H.B. "The Guth/Tuairim paper is rubbish lately. I don't know why we buy it!? . What dog in Rann na Feirste thinks he is a sparhe. His speciality is wiring tractors. gallovrs. And as Sir Roger was led out to die, he turned and smiled at the two priests. Sir Roger was an Irishman • • • he had spent his entire life fighting for a free and united Ireland. During the First ;:orld ivar, he went over to Ct€1rmany to persuade Irish P()l;/s to join an Irish Br i gade which the Germans were to e•>nvey to Ireland to fight the Br i tish. He did not get much support - just two men joined him on board a German stearr.er , the "Auk," as it sailed for Ireland loaded with 1,200 tons of rifles, aw~ition and machine guns • Sir Ro,.er tvas arres ted and in June, 1916, the King's Corone~, acting in his role as Lord Chief Justice of England, sentenced Casel'lent to death for high treasol' • As the sentence was carried out, two priests prayed and cried bitterly. As he left the prison, Father Carey was asked by a nevrspaper r eporter if there was any truth in the ruiJour that Caser<ent had died a Catbolic. "You have asked me a question, " replied the Father, 11 t.rhich is a secret between Sir Roger Casement and his God." That secret made the man on the gallmrs supremely happy.