大象传媒

ONCE UPON A TIME MANY YEARS AGO鈥� I was born in l930, within 10 years of the Bloody Sunday in Dublin was commemorated every year with mourning music until l966 war of independence. NEAR Croke Park where the Black and Tans opened fire of the footballers and spectators killing and injuring many so we were sympathetic to the GERMANS and discounted British propaganda. Roger Casement had alerted the world to the Belgian 10 year atrocities in their slave state of the Belgian Congo and the British Empire scandals were well documented. Also Russian genocide was well published before the war. So there was little to choose between Hitler and Stalin.

There were a few bombs dropped in Dublin. I slept through it although our pub lost a wide pane of glass and some slates. However the German government apologised and compensated us and my father who was also an air raid marshal sold a lot of whiskey that day. Next day there was great excitement and we children went down the street to see them 鈥渄igging up the bodies鈥�. But no one in our street was killed. I always remember the big hole opposite the local school. A local child was angrily abusing the Luftwaffe pilot for his bad aim not giving the school a direct hit. About 40 people were killed by a land-mine in the North Strand.

Because of being an agricultural country there was no real shortage of food. Actually it was a real start to the tourist industry. Many British come on holiday for the abundance of meat and eggs. There were coupons for tea and clothes. Gas was restricted to certain hours and the dreaded GLIMMER MAN inspector checked the homes to catch any one with the gas on illegally. Fuel was a problem, there were many jokes such as that the wooden logs were sold by the gallon. Huge reeks of turf were stored in the Phoenix Park and there was a lot of employment in the Bog areas in the midlands. One of my brothers tried to make a sawdust fire in a biscuit tin. COAL was very bad quality and scarce. Any thing imported was scarce because our Merchant Navy was very limited. After the war we tried to help everyone, we took 300 German children fro 3 years to stay in Ireland while Germany got on its feet and the German government gave us a fountain which is in St Stephen鈥檚 Green. We gave a hospital, St Lo to France and also helped Italy with food; they gave us museum pieces in gratitude.

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