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| Patriots Inn, Inchicore Road, Dublin |
We rolled back into Dublin on a
gorgeous, sunny afternoon; a perfect spring day. On a peaceable tree-lined street, in the
midst of everyday hustle and bustle, an attractive looking façade of a pub took
my attention. As always camera in hand,
I took a photo of the sign above the entrance.
As we turned a corner, I kept reading it over and over; it took a moment
for the caption to sink in:
“This old pub standeth on sacred ground
surrounded by the high walls of Royal Kilmainham Hospital by the ancient
cemetery of Bully’s Acre and the dungeons of Kilmainham Jail. The Patriots Inn has been closer to the pulse
of Irish History than any other contemporary pub.”
For me it was a truly heart-stopping
moment as we turned the corner to our hotel and found, directly across the
street, the infamous Kilmainham Jail.
We were free for
the afternoon so after a quick check-in at the hotel, Favorite Daughters and I
went across the street to see what we could see. I’ve known about the jail from the time I was
a child and learned about the Easter Rising of 1916 in Dublin, yet another
attempt on the part of the Irish to throw off British rule. But the emotional connection to the jail for me
came from my first visit to Ireland in 1985 when I heard the song “Grace”, new
that year. It’s based on the true story
of one of those who was part of the 1916 Rising – more on that in a moment.
I was not familiar with the Royal
Hospital at Kilmainham, now comprising the beautiful grounds and buildings of
the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
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| Royal Kilmainham Hospital Bully's Acre Irish Museum of Modern Art |
I
was also not completely familiar with Bully’s Acre which is the location for the former
military hospital. It is replete with
the history and interments of Ireland’s heroes, princes, monks, knights, and
paupers. Legend has that the great Irish
chieftain Brian Boru’ camped here before the important battle of Clontarf in
1014 and that two of his sons are buried there.
A personal aside is that while at the
IMMA/Royal Hospital, I saw a plaque with a short history of Bully’s Acre. The plaque mentioned another great Irish
rebel, a protestant at that, Robert Emmet, who may have been briefly interred there
after a failed uprising in 1803.
Although executed elsewhere in Dublin, his body was sent to Kilmainham
Jail for claiming or to be buried on the hospital grounds. His remains mysteriously disappeared but are
thought to have ended up in an Anglican church in Dublin. Emmet failed to
capture Dublin Castle and is said to have the nefarious distinction to be the
last person the British courts sentenced to and executed by the barbaric means
of hanging, drawing and quartering.
What drew me immediately is that my maternal grandfather’s name was Robert Emmett Sullivan, born in the US in 1895. He mysteriously disappeared in 1941. We know very little about him or his family but I was definitely struck by the name of the famous-in-Ireland hero and it gives us something more to ponder as we continue to search for more information.
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| It is no coincidence that many such places in Europe and elsewhere arose amidst the many Rebellions and Revolutions of the late 18th Century |
We
did not have time to tour the jail but we did take time to go through the three
exhibit floors of the museum. Having
immersed myself in Irish history in preparation for this trip, learning more
each day we traveled, having read yet more since my return, I hardly knew where
to start when approaching this piece.
Kilmainham Jail stirred my heart.
I worked in a variety of positions in
the criminal courts and prisons for more than 15 years, personally with
thousands of prisoners from petty offenders to drug dealers, rapists and
murderers, male and female. I ran
support groups for HIV/AIDS inmates and inmates who were victims of domestic
violence. I led dozens of workshops on
sexual assault with the general population of inmates and with small groups of
sex offenders. I’ve been in prisons in
several US states and have toured one of our lesser known but equally infamous,
Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia.
As bad as some of our jails and prisons are in this country, nothing I’ve
seen here meets the awful truths of Kilmainham.
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| Inhuman isolation of prisoners was a hallmark of this cold and grim institution |
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| Down to the Dungeons |
There are billions of words already
written more eloquent and accurate than mine at easy access for anyone who
wants to know more. Yet of the 128 years
of its existence, with so many eras from which to choose, the period that
speaks the loudest to me is the time of the Easter Rising in 1916.
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| Interior Exercise Yard |
Perhaps it is because it was in the
living memory of those elders of my family who spoke of it when “The Troubles”
in Northern Ireland of the 1960s,70s, 80s and beyond were in the headlines along with Viet Nam and our
own unsettled cities and towns wrestling with civil rights, riots, and
assassinations. Or maybe it seems a
romantic notion to fight and die for one’s beliefs, that is, until you look
closer.
Mostly it is because of the long history of rebellions and risings in this land of my ancestors who fought, killed, and died to have their own country for themselves without the interference, imposition, and subjugation of a predator nation hell-bent on building its own prosperity on the backs of the native peoples. And, by the way, that particular nation didn’t treat its own working classes altogether well, either. Hmmm, doesn’t seem to be a unique history after all.
Mostly it is because of the long history of rebellions and risings in this land of my ancestors who fought, killed, and died to have their own country for themselves without the interference, imposition, and subjugation of a predator nation hell-bent on building its own prosperity on the backs of the native peoples. And, by the way, that particular nation didn’t treat its own working classes altogether well, either. Hmmm, doesn’t seem to be a unique history after all.
.JPG)
The
Easter Monday event in 1916 was meant to be a national uprising but ended up as
2500 armed insurgents holding the General Post Office and other public
buildings in Dublin for 5 days after declaring the Proclamation of the
Republic. It was quashed swiftly and
severely and might have been just another nuisance rebellion that went the way
of so many others over so many centuries.
But 14 of the leaders were immediately court-martialled and their
executions were exceptionally brutal.
James Connolly, for example, was badly wounded during the Rising, so badly in fact, he had to be strapped to a chair to be shot by the firing squad. Public opinion, not only in Ireland but around the world, even in Britain, suddenly turned and saw these men as martyrs in what became a War of Independence. The day of The Republic was nearly at hand albeit not for the entire country.
One of those leaders who escaped execution was the American born Eamon de Valera who became Prime Minister of the Republic and later, President. He was one of the lucky ones and the last prisoner held at Kilmainham being released in July 1924. Michael Collins became Chairman of the Irish Free State and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and then was shot to death in an ambush in County Cork in 1922.
James Connolly, for example, was badly wounded during the Rising, so badly in fact, he had to be strapped to a chair to be shot by the firing squad. Public opinion, not only in Ireland but around the world, even in Britain, suddenly turned and saw these men as martyrs in what became a War of Independence. The day of The Republic was nearly at hand albeit not for the entire country.
One of those leaders who escaped execution was the American born Eamon de Valera who became Prime Minister of the Republic and later, President. He was one of the lucky ones and the last prisoner held at Kilmainham being released in July 1924. Michael Collins became Chairman of the Irish Free State and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and then was shot to death in an ambush in County Cork in 1922.
The most poignant story of the Rising, for me, is that of Grace Gifford and the
tubercular poet Joseph Plunkett. Their early
personal and family histories seem to belie the trajectory of their lives. I mentioned the song “Grace” above – its
lyrics are based on the last message that Joseph sent to Grace and their last
meeting. They were engaged and supposed
to be married on Easter Day but because of the scheduled rebellion, the wedding
was postponed though not for long. They
were married a few hours before he was executed by firing squad and she herself
was later imprisoned there briefly. The
song is haunting and although the lyrics follow here, it can also be heard at: YouTube: Grace
As we gather in the chapel here in old Kilmainham Jail
I think about these
past few weeks, oh will they say we've failed
From our schooldays they have told us we must yearn for liberty
Yet all I want in this dark place is to have you here with me.
Chorus**:
Oh Grace just hold me in your arms and let this moment linger
From our schooldays they have told us we must yearn for liberty
Yet all I want in this dark place is to have you here with me.
Chorus**:
Oh Grace just hold me in your arms and let this moment linger
They'll take me
out at dawn and I will die
With all my love I place this wedding ring upon your finger
There won't be time to share our love for we must say goodbye.
**
With all my love I place this wedding ring upon your finger
There won't be time to share our love for we must say goodbye.
**
Now I know it's hard
for you my love to ever understand
The love I bear for
these brave men, my love for this dear land
But when the Padhraic
called me to his side down in the GPO
I had to leave my own
sick bed, to him I had to go
**
**
Now as dawn is
breaking, my heart is breaking too,
On this May morn as I
walk out my thoughts well be of you
And I'll write some
words upon the wall so everyone will know
I love so much that I
could see his blood upon the rose.
[emphasis mine, refers to Plunkett’s most famous poem, “His Blood Upon the
Rose”]
Perhaps
to some readers it all seems a bit soap-opera like and overly sentimental. And while I was captivated by the tune and
the lyrics 25 years ago, I was stunned by the connections I made in Kilmainham
on this trip to the very real people who inhabit the story.
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| On the third shelf down on the far right is the notebook that Joseph Plunkett used to send his last message to Grace. Grace herself donated it and other articles for the Kilmainham Museum
|
It
is far more than the mere romantic emotions that connect me to that time and those
people. It is the very real questions
that arise for me, today in my own time, in my own country:
-When is a Patriot a Traitor; when does a Hero
become a Villain?
-What does it mean to “Take Our Country Back” - from whom and
for what?
-Is it the intent of those who
chant such slogans that all First Nation people rise up to reclaim their ancient
patrimonies?
-Is a Patriot only one who agrees with your “cause”, or ideology
and those who do not become worthy of execution?
-When do my individual rights
and freedoms cross a line to deny you yours?
-When is my belief system rational and yours extreme?
-How can I "take my country back" without stealing it from you?
-Whose God is the most faithful; what is heresy?
And, who decides?
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| Looking over the walls toward the Kilmainham Courthouse |
The old saw of
“who doesn’t study history is doomed to repeat it” has been replaced – it is
now “those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while others
repeat it.” I am not the one with the
answers to the questions, nor the one with solutions. But what I do believe is that those who
purport to be in charge of ______
country, city, economic system, etc. (fill in the blank for yourself),
seem to stand shoulder to shoulder with their nemeses and all look over
Kilmainham’s walls each seeing superiority of their own needs, wants, desires,
and rights, and the lack of same for the other.
Those who led the Rising in 1916 live among us
today in the hearts and minds of anyone who wants justice tempered with mercy,
as well as health, home, and the fulfillment of basic human needs for all. But
it seems their actions may have been in vain.
The world is still filled with
hatred and prejudice carefully cultivated and manipulated by some to keep the
many breathing despair and frustration in intentional communities of “us” vs “them”. When we, wittingly or un-, give the “some”
the power to create our mindsets, our opinions, and even our actions for their
own purposes and satisfaction, we lose our individual perspectives and
therefore the ability to give thoughtful response. We then fall into the easier thoughtless reaction
which begets thoughtless reaction which foments more despair and frustration. It's a trap and I fell in! BUT STOP….breathe…
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| More than just the name of a champion horse, it is a mantra for life! |
As
I reviewed the postings I have written about my brief time in Ireland this year
against the stark realities of Kilmainham as a symbol of yesterday and today, I
felt lost in a maze of my own creation.
How do I write an ending to this series to balance the beauty and spirit of a place
against the knowing that much of what I saw was carefully constructed by the
tour company and the guide? After all, I
came to intentionally see the beauty and the spirit of this land and its people
and I did. And if you came to my hometown, I would take you on a tour of the
best places, avoiding “those” places that are sad, miserable, and even
dangerous at times. I wandered off the
track and into Kilmainham. That
experience has been simmering in my heart and head for the last several months
and I have yet to figure out quite what to do with it.
When
I am in my everyday life it is easy to get sucked into the vortex of
helplessness and hopelessness, anger and frustration with so many people of the
world in dire circumstances. But we all need to breathe in the fresh air of
the Spring that always comes after the winter. I cannot fix the world, I can
only work on my participation in it and give my best thoughtful response to it. I must seek opportunities for the development, care, and feeding of my own Invincible Spirit.
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| Flying Home from Dublin
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My journey through Ireland has ended for this time. My journey through life continues. There are more questions than answers, more insights and more dilemmas, moments of helplessness, moments of determination. Each day becomes another, and the Spring always returns.
And there will always be more to say...
I do want to acknowledge Globus Tours, and particularly Carmel and Donal, for an extraordinary adventure. Their planning, timing, intinerary, and accommodations far exceeded my expectations. I could do it all over again!
