VII
There are Thursdays when Dad gets his dole money at the Labour
Exchange and a man might say,Will we go for a pint,Malachy? and Dad
will say, One, only one, and the man will say, Oh, God, yes, one, and
before the night is over all the money is gone and Dad comes home
singing and getting us out of bed to line up and promise to die for Ire-
land when the call comes. He even gets Michael up and hes only three
but there he is singing and promising to die for Ireland at the first
opportunity.Thats what Dad calls it, the first opportunity. Im nine and
Malachy is eight and we know all the songs.We sing all the verses of
Kevin Barry and Roddy McCorley, The Wests Asleep, ODonnell
Abu,The Boys of Wexford. We sing and promise to die because you
never know when Dad might have a penny or two left over from the
drinking and if he gives it to us we can run to Kathleen OConnells
next day for toffee. Some nights he says Michael is the best singer of all
and he gives him the penny. Malachy and I wonder whats the use of
being eight and nine and knowing all the songs and ready to die when
Michael gets the penny so that he can go to the shop next day and stuff
his gob with toffee galore. No one can ask him to die for Ireland at the
age of three, not even Padraig Pearse, who was shot by the English in
Dublin in 1916 and expected the whole world to die with him.
Besides, Mikey Molloys father said anyone who wants to die for Ire-
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