In Reply to: Re: Fantastic Lady (Qween of the Rd.) posted by Butch on August 26, 2008 at 02:59:36:

a cara...beannact de leat....how well i remember nellie devanney.....and why not i was a friend to the family.....i was friends to all the boys....her sister mrs o reilly...too...was such a lovely lady....people on the road way back then as i am sure now...were hard working folk....who had to do all kinds od work to make a bob....mrs. pa fallon did house work for the oconnells on chapel street....annie mc mcginty did housework for tim mcdonagh on mons terrace...my aunt katie o callaghan did housework for the bank manager that lived in the house that eventually my father bought....that i believe is now owned by a vet....the youth on mchale road were messenger boys for christy hoban....peter dever.....danny mcellin ....michael heverins {irish house}...parsons......we had apride on the road....recently i was informed of the bartley family...and so on that note i would like to reflect on one of the greatest characters ....one of the nicest gentlemen that lived on the road...one i had the priviledge of knowing and calling friend....and one that was indirectly related to me....none other than george bartley....george was married to my first cousin bridie...daughter of dan callaghan....george and i had a very close connection when i lived in massbrook during a period i take from john lennon....the lost weekend.....well i had my lost weekend in castlebar ...a period perhaps of the same duration as lennons....i was engaged in my wars with many demons....and george bartley was the one man that right up to the day i returned to canada was my friend.....many days i'd make it from massbrook by hook or by crook to town.....i'd arrive on linenhall street where i'd meet george ...pushing his udc mobile trash wagon....george would see me and come up to me and begin....he....now ...you look like ye need a pint...am i right....you look really rough.....id be shakin' and sweatin'.....and in we'd go to healys....give me two pints mam....george would call out....and give olly another when he's drank this one.....george would pick up his pint and in about three gulps...he'd down his pint....now young fella.....meet me and googy in paddy kings tonight at 5 pm....and with that george would slip a couple of bob into my hand before he'd leave to continue with his job....googy of course was none other than googy kilcourse....georges work colleague and friend....i 'd drink up and usually meander up main street to get a medium in ....tommy durkans ..[harp bar]...and then later i'd go to my other greatest friends in those " dark days"....john kennys.....john kenny treated me like a son as did his wife annie.....mrs kenny would bring me into the back kitchen and literally feed me home made soup....my "wink" was enough for john to pull me a pint ....he knew.....usually as i walked in to the pub....he'd greet me with....doctor.....there along with george darker.....we'd sit and talked of how the government was screwing up our lives....we were world authoritys...as we sat ..and ...and drank....i have many stories of the kenny family both on main street and derrycoosh.....one of the funniest recalls of my time with george bartley was one christmas he bouhgt himself a sheepskinned lined coat ....a really sharp garment....and georges delight.....well one night he went into joe mitchells....the pub was packed it was st. stephen's night.....george hung his coat on a coat rack and joined in the festivities....and craic...until closing....the ritual at "time" was mrs mitchell would call time...then go to the front door peep up and down spencer street.....ok now boys ....its time .....before the garda come....then shed close the door and ....begin to pull a few more pints.....then a little while later shed go to the side door...and repeat the previous performance......but eventually "time" did come......well george went to get his coat ...and lo and behold the coat was gone....george looked around ...and then declared ....i had a coat when i came in .....and ....by god i'll have a coat when i go out.....and thats a fact......eventually after some excitement he eventually turned to mrs mitchell and repeated his claim.....george ...said mrs mitchelll
....i put that coat in the back....just in case it got lost....well mam ...said george ...there's no fear of that...and you can take my word for that......but thank you for your concern....he and i ...frank guthrie and molly made our way to the road....next time i will share how pat devanney and i wound up in georges kitchen at 2a.m.....john donne wrote all mankind is of one author....and is one volumewhen one man dies ...one chapter is not torn out of the book...but translated into a better languageand every chapter must be so translated...as therefore the bell that rings to a sermon...calls not upon the preacher only....but upon the congregationto come so this bell calls us all.....i became fascinated by the meditations of john donne....whilst i spent some time on the lam in cuba.....ernest hemingway...in his book for whom the bells toll ...used some lines from donnes quotations...as a prelude to his book....heminway spent many years in cuba....writing and dealing with his demons.....i spent some time in his suite on the 5th.floorof the hotel ambos mundos in havana.....
la eile ...sceil eile.....slan agus ....tog go bog e.....