Across the Divide

by Brian Gallagher

  ‘But do you know what was the best part of all?’ asked Liam, as he came to the end of the story.

  ‘What?’

  ‘The trip to Skerries really paid off. For the first time ever the farm workers joined the union. And Larkin told the farmers that they couldn’t pay them slave wages anymore.’

  ‘So they paid up?’

  ‘No, they refused. Big mistake,’ said Liam with a smile. ‘Because, you know what happens every August?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Nora, eager to hear the climax of the story.

  ‘The harvest has to be taken in. Only this time the labourers said no. Nobody cut a blade of hay. Until yesterday – when the farmers caved in!’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Da told me the men got a proper raise, and they’re delighted. Isn’t it great?’

  ‘Yes, it is.’

  Just then they heard Brother Raymond calling for the rehearsal to recommence.

  ‘Hide the rock,’ said Liam, ‘I couldn’t buy a stick for everyone in the choir!’

  ‘OK,’ said Nora, slipping the rock into her pocket.

  Liam ran down the stairs. Nora followed more slowly, thinking, yet again, of how much things had changed since their first chance meeting at the feis – and wondering where it might all lead.

  Chapter 9

  ‘I dare say Brother Raymond means well,’ said Nora’s mother, ‘but I’m not sure of the thinking behind this choir.’

  ‘They are rather good, Helen,’ said her father.

  ‘Granted. But a mixed choir from quite differing backgrounds – I wonder what his objective is?’

  Nora felt a stab of anxiety. She would hate to be taken out of the choir at this stage. The rehearsals on Tuesday and Thursday nights had become the highlights of her week. She loved the independence of the tram trips into town, she enjoyed the singing itself, and the choir was the only place where she was ever likely to see Liam.

  She was sitting with her parents in the theatre of the Royal Academy of Music where the choir had just performed in the charity concert. They had sung well and there was an air of festivity about the night, but Nora realised that her mother had picked up on how some of the children and their parents, despite being dressed up, were from poorer backgrounds. Mummy was too well-bred to be openly offensive, and had been speaking in a low voice, but Nora was still uncomfortable. She tried to think up the best way to respond, but her father got there first.

  ‘Perhaps as choirmaster Brother Raymond simply wants the best singers available.’

  ‘Perhaps.’

  ‘He does, Mummy. He said it at the first rehearsal. He wants to make us the best choir in Dublin.’

  Her mother gave a small smile. ‘That’s rather a tall order.’

  ‘But it’s something to aim for,’ said Nora. ‘And I love being in the kind of choir that wants to be really good.’

  ‘The pursuit of excellence, eh, Nora?’ said her father, with a smile.

  ‘Yes, exactly.’

  The accompanist for the tenor who was next on the bill began to make her way to the piano. Glancing in her direction, Nora caught the eye of Liam, who was seated at the far side of the theatre with his parents. He winked at her, and Nora gave a discreet wave in return. She would have to be careful tonight with Liam. She could hardly tell him that her mother had warned her off the friendship because his family was poor. But neither could she appear too friendly to him, or her mother would know that she had disobeyed her.

  Nora turned back to her now, anxious to settle the matter of remaining a member of the choir.

  ‘I’d really like to stay in Brother Raymond’s choir, Mummy,’ she said, then when her mother didn’t immediately respond, she added, ‘it’s helped me as a singer, and it’s definitely improved my choral work.’

  ‘Very well, Nora, we’ll see.’

  Nora would have liked something more definite, but she sensed that this wasn’t the time to push matters. Instead she nodded as though her mother had agreed, crossed her fingers for luck, and sat back and applauded as the tenor took the stage.

  Liam was really enjoying the concert. His eldest sister, Eileen, was minding the younger girls, so tonight he had his parents to himself. It was a novelty, and even more rare to see his ma and da all dressed up and out for the night. They had sung along happily with the rest of the audience when the previous singer had performed ‘Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly?’ It was a slightly rowdy song that Liam loved, and he had belted it out even more exuberantly than his parents.

  Aware that he had the won audience over, the singer now launched himself confidently into ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’. Once again Ma and Da joined in enthusiastically, and when Ma caught Liam’s eye during the chorus she winked at him.

  ‘This is the life, eh, Liam?’ she whispered happily, her feet tapping in time to the music.

  Liam nodded. He wished that it could always be like this. It was nice to see his parents forgetting their worries for a few hours – and Liam knew that there were things to worry about.

  He had heard his father saying that he could be locked out of his job any day now, as the Employers’ Federation moved against the union. According to his da, William Martin Murphy – one of the most powerful businessmen in Dublin – was determined to break Larkin, and was sacking any worker he even suspected of being in the union. And once an employer locked a worker out, wages were stopped and the locked-out worker and his family had to try to survive on the small amount of strike pay that the union could provide.

  Thinking about employers, Liam looked across the theatre at Nora’s father. He was very well dressed – what Liam would definitely have thought of as ‘posh’ – but he also seemed pleasant. Liam had seen him smiling warmly when Nora returned to her seat after the choir had performed, and he seemed less forbidding than Nora’s mother, whom Liam recognised from the feis.

  Now that he and Nora were such good friends, Liam would have liked if his parents could have met hers. But it probably wasn’t a good idea. There was too big a gap between people like them and Nora’s parents. It was stupid, really, Liam thought. His family were every bit as good as the Reynolds, but he knew it would be awkward if the adults met. Besides which, he had never told his mother and father about Nora, and with a lockout looming, and her father being an employer, he wasn’t going to mention her now.

  Liam noticed that Nora’s mother wasn’t singing along, but her father was, and looking at his kind face and relaxed demeanour, Liam found it hard to think of him as the enemy. But his da would. And despite Nora’s claim that he was a fair employer, maybe the people who worked for him would also think of him that way.

  It would become clear pretty soon, if the war between the bosses and the workers actually broke out. Who could say what would happen then to his family, to Nora, to everyone? But tonight they weren’t at war, Liam told himself. Time enough to meet your worries when they arrive on your doorstep, as Granny always said.

  He turned away from Nora’s father, looked back to the singer, who was now marching about the stage, and joined in again with ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’.

  Chapter 10

  Nora hated going back to school. The thought of leaving the carefree days of summer for the routine of classes and homework always cast a gloom over the final days of August. The one thing that lightened it was the Dublin Horse Show. Nora loved the show jumping competitions where the sleekly groomed horses soared over fences that looked impossibly high, and she always enjoyed the carnival atmosphere in the Royal Dublin Society grounds in Ballsbridge. It would be thronged today with the cream of Dublin society, dressed in their finery. People would stroll the manicured walkways as the army brass band played, while horse breeders from all over Ireland would show off the country’s finest mares and stallions.

  Nora herself was smartly turned out in a new dress bought especially for today’s visit. Peter was wearing a sailor suit, which David was teasing him about as they travelled by tram towards Balls
bridge.

  ‘Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum,’ David saluted his little brother.

  ‘Behave, David,’ said Mummy.

  ‘I’m only playing with him.’

  Mummy gave David what Nora thought of as her look, and David nodded and said ‘OK,’ then sat back sheepishly in his seat.

  David always enjoyed getting Nora into trouble, so Nora couldn’t help but take a little pleasure in seeing him being put in his place. Just then the tram began to slow down, and she saw her father frowning as the vehicle came to a halt.

  ‘This isn’t a scheduled stop,’ he said.

  Nora looked towards the front of the vehicle, sensing that something unusual was going on.

  ‘Can you see what’s happening, Thomas?’ asked her mother.

  Before her father could reply, the tram driver came from the front of the carriage. He was a slightly built man with a thin moustache, and he addressed the passengers in a loud voice.

  ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, from here on you’re on your own! And do you know why?’ he continued, then answered his own question, ‘William Martin Murphy and the Tramway Company are sacking our members wholesale. And what’s our crime? Joining the union. Well, the day is over when we’ll be walked on without fighting back. So this vehicle is out of service – because we’re on strike!’

  With that, the driver turned around and walked off, abandoning the tram.

  For a few seconds the passengers sat in shocked silence, then there was a sudden babble of raised voices.

  ‘Outrageous behaviour!’ said a whiskered elderly gentleman, whom Nora thought looked like a retired officer. ‘Absolutely outrageous.’

  ‘This is a disgrace, Thomas,’ said her mother.

  Her father shrugged. ‘It’s Larkin to a “T”’. He loves the big gesture.’

  People were complaining loudly, and some started to dismount from the tram while others remained seated, as though unable to believe that Dublin Tramway drivers would really dare to walk away from their vehicles. Nora hoped that this action wouldn’t scupper the family’s visit to the Horse Show, and she turned to her mother.

  ‘It’s not far to the showground, Mummy. We can easily walk.’

  ‘That’s hardly the point, Nora.’

  ‘We may as well disembark, Helen,’ said her father, rising from his seat.

  ‘Might they not send a replacement tram?’

  ‘Knowing how Mr Larkin operates, I suspect there’ll be abandoned trams all over the city.’

  ‘That’s simply appalling.’

  ‘Nevertheless, Nora’s right, we can walk to the show grounds from here. We’re not going to let the Transport Union decide how we spend our day.’

  Nora was relieved that their outing wasn’t going to be ruined and she rose from her seat, then stood aside to allow her mother take Peter by the hand and lead him from the tram.

  Passengers were milling about on the pavement, and when Nora looked up the road, she could see another tram that had been abandoned while travelling in the opposite direction.

  ‘What’s going to happen, Thomas?’ her mother asked.

  ‘William Martin Murphy won’t take this lying down.’

  ‘What will he do?’

  ‘Hire new men to drive his trams,’ I expect, ‘and smash the Transport Union. I’m afraid this is outright war.’

  Even though she knew that today’s events would cause hatred and conflict, Nora couldn’t help but feel a thrill. Larkin had thrown down a gauntlet – and she had been present!

  ‘Well, shall we set out?’ asked her father, and Nora nodded, then started out excitedly for the Horse Show.

  ‘I have to go, Kitty,’ said Da. ‘I have to.’

  ‘There’ll be trouble at this meeting, Billy, I just know it.’

  Liam stood outside the kitchen door. His sisters were skipping at a lamppost around the corner, and Liam had been playing football on the road and had come in for a drink of water. Now, however, he couldn’t help but eavesdrop on his parents in the kitchen, who clearly thought they had the house to themselves.

  ‘If there is trouble,’ said his father, ‘it won’t be of our making.’

  ‘What good is that if you’re arrested? Please, Billy, I don’t ask very often – skip this meeting.’

  Liam stood unmoving, listening intently. His mother was right, she rarely asked his da outright not to do things, even though Liam sensed that she worried a lot about the kind of stands that he took. There was a pause, and when his father answered it was in an unusually gentle tone.

  ‘I’m sorry, love,’ he said. ‘I really am. But I can’t turn my back on Larkin now. There’s a principle at stake.’

  ‘And what’s the principle this time, Billy?’

  ‘Dublin belongs to the people who live here. If Jim Larkin wants to have a meeting in its main street, he’s entitled to.’

  ‘There’s a warrant for his arrest. The police won’t let him address the crowd.’

  ‘That’s exactly Larkin’s point, Kitty. The day is over when we ask them to let us. We’re free men and women; we’re exercising the right to free speech.’

  Liam felt a tingle of excitement run up his spine. Before Larkin’s arrival in Dublin, the idea of defying the all-powerful employers and the police would have been unthinkable. Now it seemed like there was going to be a mass meeting in Sackville Street, whether the authorities liked it or not.

  ‘You could end up getting arrested.’

  ‘They can’t arrest all of us. Not if we turn up in our thousands.’

  Liam thought of them all showing up to see Big Jim Larkin, and a dangerous but tempting idea lodged in his head. This would really be worth seeing. Supposing he pretended to be playing with his friends – and slipped into town to see what happened?

  ‘Have we not enough to worry about?’ said his mother. ‘You said yourself you could be locked out next week.’

  Liam had heard his da saying that four hundred employers were meeting over the coming days, and it was rumoured that they would lock out every worker who was a member of the Transport Union. If that happened, there would be twenty thousand people out of work. And the union’s strike pay wouldn’t go very far, not when divided among twenty thousand workers.

  It wasn’t as if his da’s family could afford to support him, either. His brothers and sisters had children of their own to feed, and many of them were also in danger of being locked out. Liam’s mother’s family were small farmers in Westmeath, and Liam’s granddad Crosbie, Ma’s father, had never really approved of Da, and was unsympathetic to unions and workers’ rights. Ma had always got on well with her sister Molly, who was married to a farmer, and who might be able to offer some support, but she lived in faraway Ballinacargy, and she also had her own children to look after.

  ‘Maybe it won’t come to all-out war,’ said Da. ‘Maybe the bosses will see that a lockout will hurt them as well as us. Let’s keep our chins up, Kitty, OK?’

  There was a pause, then Liam heard his mother saying ‘right’, resignedly. Not wanting to be caught listening, he gave up on his drink of water and quickly tip-toed back across the front room and out the open hall door.

  The late August sky was turning golden as the sun started to set, but Liam barely noticed. His mind was on tomorrow and the showdown that was looming between the police and Larkin. He had to be there to see it. He would be in all sorts of trouble if he was caught, but he didn’t care. His mind suddenly made up, he closed over the hall door, headed down the road and returned to his game of football.

  Chapter 11

  Nora sensed that something was wrong as soon as she stepped into the rehearsal room. Several of the other choir members looked at her, their attitude suggesting that there was drama in the air. She crossed to them quickly, but before she could ask what was up, Maurice Fitzgerald spoke.

  ‘Isn’t it terrible about Liam?’

  Nora felt an iciness in her chest. She realised that as Liam’s closest friend in the choir she was assumed
to know what had happened. She looked at Maurice, finding it hard to get the words out. ‘What … what happened him?’

  ‘He was in the riot in Sackville Street. He got hit on the head with a baton.’

  Nora’s mouth went dry and she felt her heart thumping. She had heard about the riot two days previously when Mr Larkin had been arrested at the Imperial Hotel, and she had worried that Liam’s father might have been among the many who had been injured. It hadn’t occurred to her that Liam himself would have been allowed to attend the meeting.

  ‘Is he … is he all right?’ she asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

  ‘We don’t know,’ answered Maurice. ‘He’s still in hospital.’

  ‘Who told you?’

  ‘Brother Raymond was talking to Liam’s mother.’

  Nora looked across the room to where Brother Raymond was handing out sheet music for a new piece they were planning to rehearse. She quickly crossed to him and tipped his arm.

  ‘Excuse me, Brother,’ she said.

  ‘Nora.’

  ‘I just heard about Liam. Is he all right?’

  Brother Raymond grimaced, his dark eyes concerned-looking. ‘He got a very bad knock, Nora. Very bad.’

  ‘He’s not …?’ Nora wasn’t able to put her worst fears into words.

  Brother Raymond clearly sensed her fear, because he touched her arm and looked at her kindly.

  ‘He’s not in danger, Nora.’

  ‘Thank God.’

  ‘Yes indeed. I think Our Saviour must have been looking out for him. If you like, I can bring him a message for you; I’ll be visiting him later.’

  ‘Where is he, Brother?’

  ‘Temple Street Children’s Hospital.’

  When she thought about it afterwards, Nora couldn’t remember actually making a decision, but immediately after the friar gave her the information she found herself heading for the door.