Sunday’s was a different type of Duel in the Sun from the one screened in the cinema which my mother took me to see all those years ago when sons are still young enough to let their mothers take them anywhere. It might have been the Windsor but something tells me it was in the Duncairn. It was my first trip to watch a film on the big screen and it soon set a pattern to be rigorously followed every Saturday until we got barred from the Curzon by some silly attendant who thought a uniform gave him power over viewing rights. Uniforms, in particular those with a slashed peak, transform men and not for the better.
It was Tobruk I got ejected from. Trying to tell my parents what I thought of it when I got home was not the easiest of matters. My father knew quite a bit about the Second World War and there were few films based around it that he had not seen. Although I got over the hurdle of inquisitiveness they never quite understood my lack of eagerness for future Saturday viewing. Trying to stay dry in the golf course of the Ormeau Park while it rained persistently, until the time allotted to the film had passed, was something to be put up with only once. A lot like mitching school, alright for the first half hour. Better ways to spend a Saturday afternoon than getting drenched or having to duke it.
Sunday’s 'Duel in the Sun' was combat of a different order. Out on the green with my four year old son eager to display that he could save as well as he could kick, I was soon run ragged. The energy of a four year old is boundless, not so with their parents. The sun beat down and sapped my strength as he seemed to be replenished by its rays. He hurled himself after every ball I kicked his way. I knew he was agile, having watched him in an indoor fun park moving through, around and over the obstacles with some dexterity. I just didn’t know his agility extended to goalkeeping.
It was a position I used to play at primary school and on more than one occasion in the jail I would pull on the Number 1 shirt and do nets. We got beat 17-3 one day so I was never going to make a career out of it even if the defence spread across the area in front of my goal was hopeless and had to take much of the blame.
Jails are far removed from greens on a sun baked Sunday afternoon. Or so they should be. But during our football foray I swapped texts about half a dozen times with the same person about the situation in Maghaberry. Each time my son would hold the ball and ask if I was ready to face his shot. Even in the most innocent of moments we are reminded that a different duel to ours in the sun is taking place where prisoners are being beaten, confined to cells, have their rights denied and in one case on hunger strike. And society is kept in the dark about it. The contrast with the sun could not be starker. Not every child can kick a ball with its republican father on a hot Sunday afternoon. Some child’s republican father is the ball that is being kicked from one end of a cell to another.
Eventually, we settled back into our game. I felt resentful that the actions of the screws should intrude on our family moment as I pushed them from my mind. I kicked, he saved, I tripped him, he recovered and won the ball. His mother came and took photos of our frolicking. For a while there wasn’t a care in the world; just the sun, a ball, freshly mown grass and a laughing child with the world at his toes rather than being kicked in the face by its feet.
Well good for you Anthony, the pics are superb,you treasure every minute mate ,its but a fleeting moment in time .I dont mean to sound pessimistic, I or we made the decision so many years ago that we would spend the whole summer with the kids 4 of them in the Leitrim countryside by the lake, fishing hunting and generally arseing about, no water in the mobile so washing in the lake was something else wouldnt change a moment,now those kids are up with one in Aberdeen and the others almost strangers, We are now having round 2 with our grandson, so a cara when I look back its gone with a blink, you keep the wee Mc Intyre,s safe under your wing and enjoy the ride ,I wish you and yours all the best. Now as for early memories of the flicks I can recall us going to ST Agnes hall facing the Felons on the Andytown rd and watching a war film about the Atlantic convoys black and white of course, yip my friend a looooong time ago and another world altogether, as for footie I was a very usefull goalie even if I say so myself
ReplyDeleteLittle boy asks dad where Poo comes from ?Dad explains food passes down esophagus to the stomach where digestive enzymes induce a probiotic reaction in the alimentary canal to extract protein before waste products descend via the colon and emerge as poo,"Fuck me" says the little boy, "And what about Tigger"?
ReplyDeleteMarty,
ReplyDeletenice thoughts there. Can't be beaten when they are at that age. Tired me out. But they all grow up to move on
Great fotos - grma for sharing! As cute as all get is your son! Love the 2nd foto Talk about A1 kick technique! Those good times will be forever embedded in his memory bank. RE: 'Not every child can kick a ball with its republican father on a hot Sunday afternoon. Some child’s republican father is the ball that is being kicked from one end of a cell to another' yes... from as far away as downunder thoughts are with them/speaking out in all ways possible... [i envisage the screws doing putrid payback numbers... upping it due to the outcry on the outside...]
ReplyDeleteGawd almighty Anthony ya did,nt say Maradona was in the pics lol.One wee question a cara,Did you have after the game,a,a pint.b oxygen.and I hope Marie and Nuala dont get broody when they see those pics,Big Al and I and maybe Larry, god knows how many others will be tearing our hair out well most of us will Al will just be rubbing,
ReplyDeletetobruk is a good film, to good to be ejected from, hope you got to see it another time, george pepperd was brilliant has the german jew who wore the nazi uniform whilst fighting the nazis, mr pepperd was good at every part he played, except the A team, how this armed group could go around shooting up there enemys week after week, year after year on t.v without killing any of them was always a mystery to me, the continuity are like the A team in that respect, all talk with no british army dead from them in there 24 years of trying.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos, great prose. Amazing how you can text and play (nearly) simultaneously!
ReplyDeleteMackers, looking at your photo's made me realise, that there are parts of your life that nothing can touch or invade and that is your time with your children.
ReplyDeleteI remember my son once running down the stairs to show the Brits and the peelers who were raiding our home his new black kitten. Sensing them receptive if not quite shocked and embarrassed, he ran into the kitchen to show them the kittens bed complete with Man U stickers.
I think children bring something very unique to every situation.
Lovely the way you put these sentiments across.
Very personal and very touching.
The kids are what it's all about, family more, the past... less. It's hard for me to put aside and remove all thoughts of everything I've going on to just 'be' with the kids, my wife doesn't know how I can do it. Sometimes, I don't either. And by choice and probably less Catholic and circumstance induced baggage, I've got way less on my mind than you sir, good luck, have fun, and go with it.
ReplyDeleteWill
michaelhenry a cara take up fly fishing youve a better chance of getting a rise! as for the A team I thought that show like your opinions full of crap, the one thing I can say in favour of and unlike PRM/PSF,the A team had no touts
ReplyDeleteSee yer wee lad Nuala wada guy even at that young age he could distract the dummy tits, and a Man utd supporter to boot, that boy will go far.
ReplyDeleteMackers, sorry to infringe on something that is essentially about you and your children to ask something of michael henry.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you continuously try and quantify the republican struggle in terms of a body count?
Wonder how many fatalities you ever notched up!
By the way the actor's name is George Peppard!
Apologies for joining in on the tone lowering aspect, of this very thought provoking and emotive blog!
Marty, it was the night after their Chinook went down in Mull of Kintrye.
ReplyDeleteThey kicked my door in and went ballistic.
My first thought was to get my son out of the house. Then, he appeared in the middle of the chaos with kitten.
What always amazed me was the fact, he just saw them as people. Not an enemy, just people who he wanted to show his kitten to.
Did not spot stop them slicing his bed with a stanley knife though.
Nuala, Murphys Law , first law of debate, never argue with a fool people might not know the difference,look at the third pic again I,d swear the wee lad is saying "theres no way I,m carrying you and the ball home dad"
ReplyDeleteits been a long time since i went fishing marty, everyone has an opinion, i am just telling mine, the IRISH have touts, whats new, the british army have touts, they are still setting up there boys and girls by selling them out to the armed muslims, fionnuala i am talking about movements not individuals, i support the peace process, i never killed any equals, sorry about the spelling teacher, the mull of kintrye, Scatterd Across Scotland.
ReplyDeletemichaelhenry the Maol Chinn Tire a penninsula in southwest Scotland is still in the same place, I havent heard of it being scattered.have you been at the falling down water again
ReplyDeletemichael henry, hate to do this but you spelt scattered wrong!
ReplyDeleteThe Mull of Kintyre, the problem is I type too fast.
I know I am guilty of writing things ass about face, however, unlike yourself I get it right now and again!
I asked you on another page, what you meant by "you do not kill equals"
I also asked is that a euphemism for never throwing a stone?
Or did you just not throw them at equals?
i am on about those who were inside the chinook when it sort of had a sudden failure to fly, the s.a.s, Scatterd Across Scotland.
ReplyDeletemichael henry, apologies! Thought you had caught me out and I would have deserved it!
ReplyDeleteKeep it real about Sinn Fein.
They have proved as big a let down as Alex Maskey.
You must agree his statement tonight is an absolute disgrace.
He is accusing the cops of political policing. Then he himself threatens a course of action which could not only prove detrimental to anyone foolish enough to listen to him. It is also politically motivated.
The question is why? Why is Alex Maskey doing this?
I told you earlier ex-prisoners have been kept out of jobs for years.
Lifelong republicans have received horrendous injustice and not a whimper!
So while Kevin Kennedy's case is unjust why is it causing such a stink!
Is it because all of it stinks?
Mackers, Albert Allen said those shots taken when you have the ball have been airbrushed!
ReplyDeleteHe said, you never got control of the ball in jail.
This is me speaking now. Can I say your son is gorgeous!
i type fast myself and rarely check, do not worry to much fionnuala its only english, i know plenty of equals fell during the war but i suppurted the provos when they killed the armed subjects, the provos killed more armed subjects, than the brit subjects killed provos, that is the same argument that the real can make, they killed two brits with no losses, but that was over a 12 year period, both the continuity and real started out before the good friday agreement, but i am just being picky.
ReplyDeleteSee Anthony and Carrie , Do you see what you have done , the pair of ya may have started another baby boom, Already Nuala,s getting broody, Larry,s went on the run, Albert has been sent out to buy all the viagra in Belfast and I havent been allowed to sleep all night, Sean Mor is now Sean beag,Mick Hall has been tied to his bed,even Westie has been barred from the Andytown social club untill there,s the pitter patter of tiny feet,e-wok has been captured by Toonbuck Toora,St Mary the hedge hog has shown the other significant half your wee mans pic and said "this is Aus plenty of room here I want 15 of him to make a gaelic team"the only book Belfast bookworm is allowed now is Baby Feeding Made Easy by Iris Robinson,on behalf of the overworked male population of this planet thanks a lot!
ReplyDeletemichaelhenry as Nuala said previously you seem fixated on boby counts or is your motive to draw someone into saying something out of turn so to speak, you say you supported(spelt wrong) the provo military campaing, you did,nt tell us if you played a part ,as Bobby Sands said everyone has a part to play no matter how small,was yours a walk on part? no matter moving on, so tell us michaelhenry if at one time you supported the armed struggle, no return to Stormont and all that , can you tell us when did YOU come to the conclusion that the "war" was going nowhere? Was it when some Donaldson type Psf,er told you so or did you come to that conclusion yourself,when you look back at the negotations leading up to the gfa when Kelly and others were saying they were going into these negotiations for a United Ireland. and what was the result Articles 2 and 3 dropped the british grip on the North Eastern counties copperfastened, republicanism split beyond repair, the people on the street no better of and as far as ex prisoners who wouldnt toe the party line even worse of ,all this said many times and more elequently here by others. we are looking at a return to the 80,s via prisoners beining mal treated and forced to endure inhuman and degrading treatment at the hands of secterian thugs, and mo cara michaelhenry your hero,s in the provos are now the monkeys up at the organgrinders Stormont, and turning a blind eye as republicans now enduring what they themselves endured and took military action against those thugs who inflicted such misery, I may have gone on to far here michaelhenry but do you see where I,m coming from here.I.E.,if its ok to wage war on Monday against the brits, and on Tuesday you become a brit, dont you think its been a terrible waste or more properly called a grubby little war where so many good people died or were destroyed in all other ways for nought
ReplyDeleteAnthony talking about footie ,the Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton was looking out of a window at Ainfield when he saw an old lady struggling with 6 heavy Aldi bags,he shouted down,"can you manage love?" she replied "fuck off I dont want the job"
ReplyDeleteMarty, my wee lad is a Liverpool supporter!! I have so many Liverpool books in front of me to read yet despite no time I went out and bought the Phil Thompson one yesterday. I had wanted it for a while and came across it in a second hand bookshop. Now you will have to grind thru my reviews of them all!!
ReplyDeletelol looking foward to that a cara, mind you we got to get that wee man sorted Man utd wise,lol
ReplyDeleteDuel In The Sun
ReplyDeleteMarty - you are banned from this blog forever and a day. Maradona indeed! It was the man's great girth rather than his great goal you were referring to!!
Fionnchú,
I even manage to breathe while texting and playing!!!
Fionnuala,
time with children. So important. And their innocence as demonstrated by your son showing the Brits his kitten. But Man U stickers. That made my blood boil!!!! Thanks for your lovely comments about Ronan. He will be abe to read them when he is older but I have told him anyway! Albert won't even get on this site again by proxy if he goes down the Marty line of negative comments!!!
Will,
it is great fun. I want them to avoid half the people I encountered and meet the other half. And I want them to support Liverpool!!
Dia is Muire dhuit Tony
ReplyDeleteIt is great to see how happy the Wee One is, playing with his Dad at the sunny green field. No walls, no wiremesh, no concrete, no cctv cameras, no screws....
I ve three sons, well two I got by my marriage, Tobias is already 26 years old, Tom is 22 and Danny is 20. Strange how fast they grow and funny how I try to keep them in line, anyway I hope you will have many sunny days and playing with the Boyo, good for your belly too …. lol
The comments are – I don t know..... hey people, its a private part of family living and not a discussion about Republicanism, war and whatsoever.... and now we watch „in the name of the father“ to remember the other side of the coin!
BUT – Liverpool was my favour club. I received a Tshirt when I was a wee one with all players signed the shirt. (This was in 1974 or 1973, when they won a cup, I am not sure)
And Tobias phoned me up in my Office in 2006 and said – hey Grandda.... makes me feel old ha!
Mactire,
ReplyDeleteComments about the belly are banned!
The shirt you got must have been close to the 1974 final when they beat Newcastle United 3-0 in the FA Cup final