Ah, no, indeed, sir. Sure I hardly touch the pint at all with the pains.
My wife is home in the bed and I have to take care of her too.
Theres great laziness in the world, Creagh. And Mr. Kane says to
the people on the queue, Did ye hear that, ladies? Great laziness, isnt
there?
And the women say, Oh, there is, indeed, Mr. Kane, great laziness.
Mr. Creagh gets his docket to see the doctor, the queue moves
ahead and Mr. Kane is ready for Mam.
The public assistance, is that what you want, woman, the relief?
Tis, Mr. Kane.
And wheres your husband?
Oh, hes in England, but
England, is it? And where is the weekly telegram, the big five
pounds?
He didnt send us a penny in months, Mr. Kane.
Is that a fact? Well,we know why,dont we? We know what the men
of Ireland are up to in England.We know theres the occasional Limer-
ickman seen trotting around with a Piccadilly tart, dont we?
He looks out at the people on the queue and they know theyre
supposed to say,We do, Mr. Kane, and they know theyre supposed to
smile and laugh or things will go hard with them when they reach the
platform.They know he might turn them over to Mr. Coffey and hes
notorious for saying no to everything.
Mam tells Mr. Kane that Dad is in Coventry and nowhere near Pic-
cadilly and Mr. Kane takes off his glasses and stares at her.Whats this?
Are we having a little contradiction here?
Oh, no, Mr. Kane, God no.
I want you to know, woman, that it is the policy here to give no
relief to women with husbands in England. I want you to know youre
taking the bread from the mouths of more deserving people who stayed
in this country to do their bit.
Oh, yes, Mr. Kane.
And whats your name?
McCourt, sir.
Thats not a Limerick name.Where did you get a name like that?
My husband, sir. Hes from the North.
Hes from the North and he leaves you here to get the relief from
the Irish Free State. Is this what we fought for, is it?
I dont know, sir.
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