Across the Divide

by Brian Gallagher

  DEDICATION:

  To Pat and Mary.

  Thanks for all the friendship and support.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

  My sincere thanks go to Michael O’Brien for his initial suggestion that I write a children’s historical novel, and to my editor, Mary Webb, for her many insightful contributions.

  I’m greatly indebted to Annie-Rose O’Mahony and Sean Pardy, two well-read young people who generously took the time to read the first draft and share their observations with me.

  My thanks also go to Dave ‘Doc’ O’Connor and Pauline Pardy for their assistance, and to Hugh Mc Cusker for his eagle-eyed proof-reading.

  And finally, but most significantly of all, my deepest thanks go to my family, Miriam, Orla and Peter, for all the ways in which they support me.

  Brian Gallagher.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Prologue

  31 AUGUST 1913 SACKVILLE STREET, DUBLIN.

  PART ONE SEEDS OF TROUBLE

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  PART TWO SHOWDOWN

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  PART THREE ENDGAME

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  EPILOGUE

  HISTORICAL NOTE

  About the Author

  Copyright

  PROLOGUE

  31 AUGUST 1913

  SACKVILLE STREET, DUBLIN.

  Liam knew that he shouldn’t be here. It was no place for a ten-year-old boy; any adult would tell you that. But he hadn’t asked an adult. He had just sneaked into town without anyone knowing. Because really, he had to be here. Today’s meeting in the city’s main street was too exciting to miss, and he looked forward to telling his friend Nora all about his adventures later on.

  Last night Liam had heard his mother saying that the police had banned Jim Larkin, the leader of the city’s striking workers, from addressing the people of Dublin. But Larkin had insisted that he would appear in Sackville Street at half past one today, police or no police. Liam had no idea how Larkin was going to do it, and neither, it seemed, had anybody else, but the street was thronged with people eager to see what would happen.

  Even though he was fairly tall for a ten-year-old, Liam found it hard to see across Sackville Street as he stood at the base of Nelson’s Pillar, the high column topped by a statue of Lord Nelson that Ma said was the exact centre of Dublin. The thought of his mother made him feel guilty. She’d be worried if she knew that he was here alone and surrounded by grown-ups. And there was a funny mood in the crowd, a slightly frightening sense that something, anything could suddenly happen. But things that were frightening were sometimes exciting too, and Liam told himself that what his mother didn’t know needn’t worry her, and that if his hero, Mr Larkin, wasn’t afraid, then he wouldn’t be either.

  There were hundreds of policemen on duty, and as Liam moved down the street towards the General Post Office he noticed how angry some of them seemed, fingering their batons and looking suspiciously at the people who spilled off the footpaths and onto the street.

  The crowd itself was an odd mixture, with Larkin’s supporters, mostly working men in their caps and Sunday-best jackets, mingling with well-dressed people coming from Mass in the nearby pro-Cathedral. Liam checked the time on the big clock mounted on the wall above a nearby shop. It was twenty-nine minutes past one. Only one minute to go, and still no sign of Jim Larkin. It would be really disappointing if he didn’t show up, yet with policemen stationed at every corner it was hard to see how the leader of the striking workers could keep his promise. But he always kept his promises, Liam’s father had said last night, you could count on it.

  Thinking of his father, Liam glanced around nervously. As a loyal supporter of Larkin, Da was bound to be somewhere in the crowd. And Liam would be in serious trouble with him if he was spotted here. He would have loved to come into town today with him, but there was no question of his father bringing his son to a meeting banned by the police.

  ‘Make way there, make way,’ cried a big police sergeant, and Liam was jostled forward as a line of officers pushed the crowd back to allow a carriage to draw up outside the Imperial Hotel, directly across the road from the General Post Office.

  Through a gap in the crowd Liam watched as a bearded, elderly man and an expensively dressed woman emerged from the carriage and made for the hotel entrance. Liam felt a surge of annoyance. Why should everyone else be pushed out of the way just because somebody rich wanted to enter the hotel? It wasn’t that he had anything against the lady or the man – whom he now saw was stooped and slow-moving – but why did the police have to be so rough with everyone else? Da said that the police were completely on the side of the employers. So pushing the ordinary people back was a way of showing them who was boss.

  Liam felt a tap on his shoulder.

  ‘You shouldn’t be here, sonny,’ said a voice in a strong country accent.

  Liam looked up to see a tall policeman looking down at him.

  ‘Be on off home with you now,’ said the man gruffly.

  Part of Liam wanted to say ‘Dublin is my home,’ but it wouldn’t be a good idea to give cheek to a policeman. He hesitated, reluctant to argue back, but not wanting to give in at once.

  ‘Well, what are you waiting for?’

  ‘Jim Larkin,’ answered Liam, the smart answer slipping out before he could stop himself.

  The policeman’s face darkened. ‘Don’t give me lip, you little pup!’ The man took a step nearer, and Liam drew back.

  There was a sudden roar from the crowd.

  ‘Larkin! It’s Larkin!’

  They began cheering wildly and pointing to a balcony on the first floor of the Imperial Hotel. To Liam’s relief, the policeman turned away and began pushing his way towards the hotel.

  Liam stood on tiptoe to see the figure on the balcony. It couldn’t be! But it was: the elderly gentleman who had walked so shakily from the carriage was now standing erect and proud. It was Jim Larkin!

  ‘Workers of Dublin, I said I’d be here, and here I am!’

  The crowd went mad, and Liam found himself cheering loudly along with the people around him.

  There was a sudden surge as police converged on the hotel, and Liam knew it wouldn’t be long before Larkin was arrested. Sure enough, before Larkin could say much more he was pulled back off the balcony. But the briefness of the appearance didn’t matter to Liam or to the people in the street. Their hero had outfoxed his enemies once again and coolly kept his promise to appear, right under their noses.

  Liam ran forward, wanting to see Larkin in the flesh as he was led away. The people behind him surged forward too, but were stopped by the police, who had formed a cordon around the hotel. Standing as close to the line of policemen as he dared, his heart pounding, Liam saw a flurry of activity at the door of the Imperial. Then an officer in command of a group of uniformed policemen bundled Larkin out the door and towards a carriage.

  Before Liam knew what he was doing, he called out, ‘Well done, Mr Larkin!’

  The tall union leader, still wearing the false beard that had been part of his disguise, turned his head towards the voice. Locking eyes briefly
with Liam, he winked, and then was thrust into the carriage.

  Winked at by Jim Larkin! Liam could hardly believe it. Wouldn’t that be something to tell Da, if he dared!

  As the carriage pulled away, scuffling broke out on the roadway near the hotel entrance. There was a cry of ‘Baton charge!’ and within seconds there was chaos. The policemen who had earlier been fingering their batons now suddenly wielded them savagely. People screamed in pain, and men fell to the ground, blood streaming from their heads and faces. Liam felt his stomach tighten in fear and he tried to run in the opposite direction, but was forced back by the crowd behind him who were being batoned by police officers advancing from the direction of Nelson’s Pillar.

  Turning on his heel, Liam ran as best he could down the middle of the road, dodging the bodies of those who had already fallen. He couldn’t believe that the police were attacking everyone in sight. But something had been unleashed today, and nobody was safe, not even a boy like himself.

  As if to prove it, a nearby policeman, having just felled a middle-aged man with a sickening blow from his baton, swung around and flailed at Liam. Dodging from an attack that might have split his head, Liam still caught part of the blow on his shoulder, and he cried out in pain.

  Before the man could swing again, Liam ducked in panic under his outstretched arm and ran on down the street. Soon he was near the turn for Sackville Place, where he attended choir practice with Nora two nights a week. There was a laneway that ran off Sackville Place and parallel to Marlborough Street; if he could just make it to there, maybe he could escape from the horror of the riot.

  He ran to the corner of Sackville Place and turned into it, then stopped dead. Mounted policemen were advancing towards him, reaching down from their saddles and felling anyone within range of their batons.

  Liam turned and fled, the cries of those being pursued by the horsemen ringing in his ears. Sackville Street was now like a battlefield, but Liam didn’t hesitate and ran diagonally across the broad thoroughfare, heading for Prince’s Street and the alley at its far end that would take him to Middle Abbey Street and safety.

  Lots of other people were running in the same direction, and he couldn’t see clearly what lay ahead. Suddenly the crowd halted in disarray. Liam heard the order ‘Reserves advance!’, and the people in front of him milled about, trying to reverse direction as the reserve body of police officers was unleashed.

  Really frightened now, Liam hesitated, not knowing what to do. People all around him began to be hit, trapped as they were in front and rear. Liam crouched and raised his arms to try to protect his head. A heavy hand spun him around, then a baton crashed into his temple. For a split second he saw a blinding light, then he fell to the ground and everything faded to darkness.

  PART ONE

  SEEDS OF TROUBLE

  Chapter 1

  MARCH 1913

  FR MATHEW HALL, DUBLIN.

  Nora felt a surge of panic. She searched through the sheet music in her leather satchel but couldn’t find the page she wanted. It must be here somewhere, she told herself, it just has to be! She went through the music again, sheet by sheet, hoping to find the page she needed, perhaps stuck to another page. But there was no mistake – it was missing.

  Nora felt a sinking sensation. This should have been a special day. She was dressed in her new green velvet dress, and her mother had bought matching ribbons for her hair, but now things had gone badly wrong. Desperately wanting to keep the feeling of panic at bay, Nora closed her eyes and breathed deeply, doing the relaxation exercise her singing teacher had taught her.

  Normally Nora loved the atmosphere backstage at a feis, waiting in the wings with the other competitors. She liked the special dusty smell that you only got in theatres, and she enjoyed the excitement of competing, and the fun you could have with the other contestants. Today everyone in the under-twelve age group had to sing Gounod’s ‘Ave Maria’, and Nora had been happy with her performance. She was hoping to score well with her selected piece, Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes’. But without the sheet music for the pianist who accompanied each performer, what was she going to do?

  And what would her mother say? Although Nora had been singing at feiseanna since she was six, it was only recently that she had convinced her mother that at ten years of age she was old enough to look after her own music.

  Even as she took slow deep breaths, Nora’s mind was racing. Maybe she could sing another song? A different song wouldn’t be as well rehearsed as ‘Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes’, and would lessen her chances of winning, especially today when she was competing against Kathleen Brogan, who performed in all the feiseanna, and who won lots of prizes. Still, singing a different piece would be better than going out to the auditorium and confessing her mistake to her mother. Except that if she sang something else she would be questioned, wouldn’t she? After so much practice, Nora, why did you change songs?

  She could claim that she had switched songs because one of the other contestants had already sung ‘Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes’. He was a boy of about her own age and he had performed it very well.

  A sudden thought struck her. Nora opened her eyes and searched among the waiting competitors for the boy who had sung her song. He must be new to the circuit; she had never seen him at any other feiseanna. There he was! He looked relaxed as he sat on a chair, reading a comic book and pushing back a strand of wavy brown hair that had fallen down onto his forehead. His hob-nailed boots were old, but well polished.

  Could she do it? Could she ask a boy she had never met to lend her the music? The more she hesitated, the more unreasonable it seemed. After all, they were competing against each other. Could she really ask for his help – in her efforts to beat him? No, that wouldn’t be fair. She would be in trouble now with her mother, with her singing teacher, with everyone! She had practised really hard for today, but it was all going wrong. Nora felt tears starting to well up in her eyes, though she tried to keep them at bay.

  Just then the boy looked up from his comic and glanced towards her. He gave her a half-smile, his blue eyes friendly.

  Nora immediately turned away. She rose quickly and made her way to a far corner of the theatre’s wings, hoping that the boy hadn’t noticed that she was upset. Taking out her handkerchief, she dabbed her eyes dry. There was no use feeling sorry for herself; she would just have to tell her mother the truth.

  ‘It’s only a song,’ a voice said.

  Nora turned to discover that the wavy-haired boy had followed her.

  ‘I beg your pardon?’

  ‘No good being upset. Just go on and do your best.’

  So he had seen the tears forming in her eyes. And he thought she was upset at having to perform again.

  ‘It’s…it’s not that,’ she said.

  ‘What is it then?’

  Nora wasn’t used to strangers being so blunt, yet she found herself answering openly.

  ‘I forgot my music. Mummy will be really upset.’

  ‘No music? Holy God!’

  Nora was taken aback. She didn’t know many boys, but those she had met didn’t speak like this.

  ‘Have you music for any other piece?’ the boy asked.

  ‘Yes, but I’ve practised “Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes”. So my mother will ask questions if I sing something else.’

  ‘That’s your piece? “Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes”?’

  ‘Yes.’

  This was her opportunity. He was kind, he was friendly, there was a good chance he might help her. She looked at him, searching for the right words. But then she faltered, unable to find the nerve to ask.

  ‘Sure, you’re all right then,’ the boy said. ‘You can use mine.’

  ‘I … I can’t just take yours,’ Nora said, feeling that politeness demanded this.

  ‘Fair enough. I’ll sell it to you. Say, a tanner?’

  Nora was a little bit shocked. Sixpence was a lot – more than her entire weekly pocket mon
ey. On the other hand, the sheet music would be a lifesaver.

  ‘I don’t have sixpence with me,’ she explained, ‘but–’

  The boy burst out laughing. ‘Will you get out of it! I’m only messing.’ He reached inside the cover of the comic book and removed the music. ‘Here, take it.’

  ‘Even though we’re rivals?’

  ‘I want to win ’cause I’m the best, not ’cause you forgot your music!’

  The boy was grinning, and Nora found herself smiling back. It was as though a weight had lifted from her, and she felt a stab of affection for this slightly cocky, slightly rough, but clearly generous boy.

  ‘Thank you so much,’ she said, taking the music.

  ‘You’re grand.’

  ‘I…I don’t even know your name.’

  ‘Liam. Liam O’Meara.’

  ‘Hello, Liam.’ Nora held out her hand. ‘I’m Nora Reynolds.’

  ‘Well hello, Nora Reynolds,’ he answered with a grin, then he held out his hand, and Nora happily shook it.

  ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasant duty to announce the results of the Under-Twelve singing competition.’

  Nora felt her pulses starting to race as the Master of Ceremonies spoke from the stage. Her mother reached out and squeezed Nora’s hand encouragingly as they sat together in the auditorium. The standard had been high, but Nora felt that she had done well with ‘Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes’.

  After the performance she had returned the sheet music to her new friend, Liam, and they had chatted easily together backstage until all the contestants were finished. She was surprised when Liam told her that he had come here on his own, his home in Phibsboro being only a short distance from the Fr Mathew Hall. Nora had never travelled to a feis on her own and was a bit envious of the amount of freedom that Liam seemed to enjoy. On the other hand, it meant that none of his family was here to support him. She found herself really curious about his world, which she suspected was very different to her own.