They never seemed close – the old whiskey
Master and the young pastel-lipped teacher.
They shared the same roof over our two-roomed
school, that was all – the dividing door a thick
50s coral gloss with its six panes of glass,
where their faces would appear if they needed
to summon one another. It wasn’t often.
And she must have winced at the howls
that came from his side.
But when they met over his coffee flask
the day after the election, somehow
they couldn’t separate. Fine Gael were in!
The party of professionals and well-heeled
farmers. Daddy’s smile drew a line back to the
20s, to the Civil War, a victory for The Big Fella,
whose 8 by 4 photo stood on the mantelpiece
in Daddy’s bedroom, Daddy’s IRA
medal draped on one corner. I accepted it
then that such good news would drive people
to forget themselves but now I can’t
believe the way they forgot us too –
what could the Master have been saying to her
that took so long, was he planning the budget
or choosing the cabinet of the 20th Dáil?
We weren’t called in after the eleven o’clock break
we ran wild for miles, for hours, for weeks,
deep scratches along my thighs, Betty’s old 60s
mini-dress with the pink and orange circles
no protection against the waist-deep briars
in the woods behind the church where everyone
who had them was smoking Carrolls No. 1.
We ransacked rubbish for makeshift hurleys –
anything would do, the boys said but
they banned my old frying pan when they saw
I could run forever with the ball.
I was wearing that light dress so it must
have been summer before it stopped.
All the beatings, the cruelty behind those walls
continued undisturbed but someone
had to put a stop to us roaming like tinkers
when boys were seen riding the roof
of Paddy the Priest’s cottage like
it was a horse. And when Mick Looney
passed the graveyard, the crane shot
from his combine harvester showed him
a child on every stone.
Article 26:
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
[The text highlighted above is the section of this Article that the author chose to focus on, in particular]
Martina Evans is an Irish poet, novelist and teacher. She grew up in Co Cork in a country pub, shop and petrol station and is the youngest of 10 children. She is the author of ten books of prose and poetry. Most recently, Burnfort, Las Vegas (Anvil Press 2014) was shortlisted for the Irish Times Poetry Now Award 2015. Mountainy Men, a new narrative poem, is the recipient of a Grants for the Arts Award in 2015. Watch, a pamphlet, will be published by Rack Press in 2016 and her Selected Poems will be published by Carcanet in 2017.
