Sullivan Brothers C.D.

I missed the recent launch of the Sullivan Brothers CD and to make amends I went out

immediately and bought the disc.  The first time listening to their songs and I listened to them all, I had mixed feelings, but their songs  grew in appeal, at least that's what I found after I had played the CD for the third time.  Its a wonderful achievement for a singer to put out a record in much the same way as it is for an aspiring writer to publish a book.  The Sullivan Brothers have achieved great success over the last twelve months and who knows, the CD may bring them further and even greater success into the future.

The last months of 2006 promise to bring a veritable avalanche of books and CD launches, what with the Sullivan's musical contribution soon to be followed by a CD of songs and stories relating to South Kildare by  Colm Walsh.   Brian Hughes, I gather, is working on his second CD and while I have no knowledge of when it will appear, I would hope it will issue in time to catch the  Christmas market.  Of course, the recording daddy of them all, Jack L issued another CD a few months ago and like his previous releases, it proved to be the work of an extraordinary musical talent. 

Local writers are also busy, what with Zoltan Zinn Collis' book hitting the book shelves in September followed soon afterwards by John MacKenna's latest contribution to the literary scene.  In November, the local Golf Club will publish its centenary history while the long awaited book on County Kildare in the County History series will be launched before Christmas.

There are a lot of good things happening in and around South Kildare and the local Town Hall will host a number of events during October and November.  The Shackleton Autumn School kicks off on Friday evening, 27^th and goes on for the following three days with a variety of events including some extremely interesting exhibitions with  lectures, drama and music.  There is literally something for everyone and every age over the October Bank Holiday weekend in the Town Hall and the Heritage Centre.

And the following Wednesday, Zoltan Zinn Collis will give a talk in the Town Hall.  This is an event not to be missed and comes soon after the launch of his book “Final Witness – My journeyfrom the Holocaust to Ireland”.  Three days later, the Heritage Centre will be the venue for the official launch of John MacKenna's latest book, “Things you should know”. Derek Mooney of radio and TV fame will launch the book which has already been tipped for literary honours in 2007.  John MacKenna is presently touring his play “My Fathers Son”with  The Mend and Makedo Theatre Company which tour finishes in Mullingar this week.  November is definitely  MacKenna's month for on Sunday 12^th   hisOratorio, “Still and Distant Voices” which he wrote some years ago to commemorate the involvement of local working men in World War 1 will be performed in the Methodist Church in Woodstock Street.  Music for the Oratorio was composed by Mairead O'Flynn when  she was a teacher in Scoil Mhichil Naofa some years ago.  She is now Principal of the National School in Ballymore Eustace. Interestingly, Jack L's father,  Sean Loughman and the golden voiced Jacinta O'Donnell are the singing stars of the Oratorio, more details of which will be  given in next weeks Eye on the Past.

I got a letter from one of my Athy readers concerning my piece on the River Barrow canoe trip with particular reference to the railway bridge.  You may recall that I mentioned that the bridge built  in 1919 as part of the railway extension to Wolfhill was the first prestressed concrete bridge in Ireland.   My correspondent tells me that his father, who was a well known building Contractor, claimed that “Coy” Moore's father mixed all the concrete for the bridge using a hand turned mixer.  Can any other local confirm that story for me.

Another letter received this week was from a woman in Fairview, Dublin whose mother worked for the Hannon's in Ardreigh House in 1920. Her mother, who was  from Castledermot, started working for the Hannon's who previously lived at Prumplestown, Castledermot when she was a month short of her fourteenth birthday. The pay was one pound a month which Mrs. Hannon sent home to the young girl's mother in Castledermot.  The charming letter gave an account of life in Ardreigh House eighty six years ago and I smiled at the following reference which brought back memories of summer evenings spent by me and my friends at Sunnyside in the late 1950's.  “Entertainment for the girls who worked in Ardreigh House consisted of walking out to Bray or into Athy.  They seemed to know every shop worker who ever worked there at the time and indeed, my mother bought her groceries for two decades in Dublin from a man whom she had known when he served his time at the grocery in Athy”.

When I read the letter, I was prompted to think yet again of the treasures of memory and the life experiences which all of us have garned for ourselves and which for the most part are destined never to be shared with others.  I have at various times in the past raised the desirability of encouraging older people to record their reminiscences of  times past.   There are some extraordinary stories  to be learned, many extraordinary people with tales to tell which, if not told will soon be lost forever.  I know that the late Billy Kelly was engaged on behalf of the library services of Kildare County Council in recording the folk memories of people living in his area of South Kildare but how far that project progressed, I cannot say.  I do know that last year Laois County Council through its Heritage Officer instituted an oral history project with the intention of  recording the reminiscences and the experiences of the older generation.  In the mid 1930's the Folk Commission in conjunction with the primary schools throughout Ireland organised a Folklore collection scheme, the results of which  now form a major part of the holdings in the Department of Folklore in University College, Dublin.  This was a scheme organised on a twenty six county basis through the Folklore Commission and points  the way as to how an oral history project could be established nationally if we are ever to hope to reclaim the untapped fields of enquiry dealing with the social life and labours of ordinary men and women.  Now that Heritage Officers have been appointed by some County Councils, perhaps the Minister for the Environment might consider ensuring that the Heritage function in each county is directed so that a national scheme for recording oral history can be set up under the aegis of the Department while using the Heritage Officers in each County as the County organisers for the project.

Writing of the Minister reminds me that the Relief Road Project for Athy has been the subject most often raised with me by locals during the past week or so.  Everyone wants to know what is happening about a new road.  It would seem that precious little information is being given out by either Kildare County Council or the Town Council.  The latest information I have is that housing developers at Gallowshill are required to build sections of the outer relief road where it borders  the lands being developed for housing.  As a result, I am told that approximately 180 metres of the outer relief road has been laid down and that further development of that road as far as the railway crossing can be expected, but when I don't know.  I welcome the current Town Council Chairperson's invitation to the local people to make known their views on the relief road measures.

It makes a huge change from the attitude of a previous Council which when presented with a petition signed by more than 2,500 local people ignored the views expressed.  Indeed, the local people who attended the Council meeting to present the petition were rather discourteously treated by some public representatives on that Council.  Democracy was not best served that day in the Council Chamber. However, that is all water under the bridge now, and given the current Town Council's  continuing attempts to get Kildare County Council to move on the relief road, we must be hopeful that the County Council, which moved with amazing speed when dealing with the Inner Relief Road Project in the lead up to the An Bord Pleanala oral hearing can bring the same energy and commitment to putting an acceptable Relief Road in place for the town of Athy.

The Sullivan Brothers CD “Keep Holding On” which I mentioned at the top of this article was dedicated to the memory of Mark Browne, a young man who died last year after a long battle against illness. I did not know Mark personally but knew his parents and following his funeral, I wrote some lines of appreciation for a young life so sadly lost.  A few weeks ago, his father Kieran gave me a copy of a number of poems which he was inspired to write following the loss of his only son who was dearly loved and greatly missed.  Having read them and particularly one poem entitled “Without Him”, I have to admit that I have seldom been moved so much by words written on a page  The poem written by Kieran Browne  following the death of his only child is very evocative and a fine piece of writing and reads:

                        My past I have lost

                        My past and my future

                        My hoped  for dreams gone forever

                        Gone are the days I would never say never

                        No shared enjoyment of Milligan and Co.

                        No shared appreciation of symphonies and riffs

                        Of images on celluloid           

                        The past to be viewed during the twilight years

                        No man to man chats

                        No disagreements on which players were prats

                        No nuptials now

                        No “Grandad” called out

                        Memories of body and soul being tortured and broken

                        No explanation at my bedside when it's my turn to die.          

                                      

Sullivan Brothers and Malachy Cardiff

It was surely a coincidence that their great grandfathers travelled from Cork about the same time at the turn of the last century to settle in this area.  Thomas McEvoy settled in Vicarstown, while James Sullivan came to live and work in the Castlemitchell area.  Three generations later the Sullivan and McEvoy families were united when Denis Sullivan, one of twelve siblings from Foxhill, married Ann McEvoy of Kilberry.  Both families were deservedly immensely proud when in Emily Square on Monday night of last week Shane and Adrian Sullivan, great grandsons of the two Corkonians, were welcomed back to their home town following their successful run in the “You’re a Star Competition”.  There has seldom been such an enthusiastic gathering in the Square, which in it’s lifetime stretching back over 300 years, hosted political, military and social gatherings of all kinds.  Arthur Griffith and De Valera spoke from a platform set against the facade of the early 19^th century Town Hall, while successful teams from Athy’s county champions of 1987 to the later Leinster title holders, Kildare, have graced Emily Square with their presence.

I have seen a photograph of the Griffith/De Valera meeting and was in attendance when the football champions came to receive the applause and appreciation of the Athy people.  However, I believe that those who turned out for the Sullivan Brothers last week exceeded anything I have ever seen before in the Town Square.  It surely was a remarkable occasion, and one may I say which was graced with great aplomb by the Chairman of the Town Council, Richard Daly, who acted as Master of Ceremonies.  Shane and Adrian delighted their fans with a number of songs and then spent well over an hour dealing with many requests for autographs from young and old alike.

It was a wonderful occasion and one which brought a fitting end to the weeks of support and encouragement which the singers received from the people of Athy and elsewhere.  There have been many great occasions in Emily Square, but the night of March 6^th 2006 must rank high on the list of those events which will be remembered for a long time.

But even as the cheering echoed beneath the Town Hall Chambers, where hanging Judge Norbury plied his deadly trade during the period of the 1798 Rebellion, sadness cast its long shadows over the gathering.  News had reached many of us earlier in the day that 50 year old Malachy Cardiff had died suddenly at his place of work in Tegral.  Malachy was a great supporter of the Sullivan Brothers and like them, he and his brothers Tony and Damien were songsters who had graced many local functions over the years.  Indeed, Damien and Malachy Cardiff were up to recent years the most successful and entertaining singers in this area and as the Sullivan Brothers star ascends, the man who entertained us so well for so long passes away.

It was a cruel blow, especially for Malachy’s family, his wife Ann and the Cardiff children.  Malachy travelled to the Helix on the penultimate night of the singing contest to support the Sullivan Brothers and with them that night also, and every night of the competition, was Malachy’s brother Tony.  Indeed, Tony, a leading member of Athy’s Musical and Dramatic Society, and like his brothers, a musician of exceptional talent, was helping and guiding the Sullivan Brothers throughout the competition and was on hand on the night of their return to Athy to supervise the sound system for the new singing stars.

Malachy Cardiff’s death is a tragic loss of a young man who contributed so much in terms of his musical ability to the local community.  The Musical and Dramatic Society, the Folk Mass Group and countless charity gigs over the years, all affirm his generous commitment to the local community.  Athy Lions Club, part of the largest charity organisation in the world, has over many years been the recipient of the generosity of the Cardiff brothers, Malachy and Damien, who time and time again willingly gave of their time and talents to help some charitable event or other.  Malachy’s passing is a terrible tragic loss for us all.  Ar dhéis Dé go raibh a anam.

I received a number of letters and e-mails last week, all from overseas and all of them very welcome for the kind words and the information they brought.  Mary Caulfield wrote to me from America for a copy of Eye on Athy’s Past and in passing referred to her great grandfather, Dan Caulfield of Levitstown who lived through the 1798 Rebellion.  Caulfield was a supporter of the Irish cause and while I don’t at present have a great deal of information on him, I hope to correct that in the not too distant future.  In the meantime if there is anyone who can give me any information on the Caulfield family, and especially Dan Caulfield, I would be delighted to hear from them.

Joe Carbery wrote to me from Victoria, Australia having read some of my articles on World War I and the involvement in that war of the men from Athy.  Like myself he grew up in a nationalist setting which showed intolerance and at best indifference for the men who enlisted in the British Army and fought in foreign wars.  In the same way that my prejudiced attitude towards the first World War and the men who fought in it changed as I read more and more on the topic and on the social history of the time, so Joe’s attitude also changed.  As he wrote in ending his letter to me, “a country’s past, like a person’s character, is made up of many parts and the denial of any of them lessens the true expression of that country’s persona”.  It was nice to hear from Joe Carbery, a brother of Jerry’s, whom I believe first went to the Southern Hemisphere, specifically New Zealand, almost 24 years ago.

Another letter received during the week was from John Clandillon, who lives in Cheshire in England, and who tells me that his grandfather was born in White’s Castle in 1870.  I hope to bring the story of the Clandillon connection with Athy to you at some future date.

The High Court has given its judgment on the Kildare County Manager’s application for a Judicial Review of the An Bord Pleanala’s decision to reject the Inner Relief Road proposal.

That decision now puts an end to the Inner Relief Road which was first proposed in the mid-1960’s and which has devoured vast amounts of taxpayers and ratepayers monies in the intervening 40 years.  The latest expensive, and quite needless move by the County Manager to overturn An Bord Pleanala’s decision, has not only cost the public dearly but has wasted much valuable time which should have been spent in bringing forward alternative road proposals.  The County Manager has failed to progress the developmental needs of Athy and has ignored the well signalled wishes of the local people for a road development which would enhance, rather than destroy, the priceless fabric of the town centre.  His judgment has been faulty and quite frankly his position as County Manager for Kildare is now untenable.

Others, whose judgment have also been sadly faulty are the Councillors at Town Council level and County Council level who pushed through the Inner Relief Road project, mindless of the wishes of the people of Athy.  There was only one County Councillor in the area who opposed the Inner Relief Road.  Councillor Mark Dalton deserves credit for his principled stand on the issue.  His County Council colleagues in this area deserve no credit for what they did.  As for the Town Councillors, the best that can be said for most of them is that their judgment was on par with their apparent inability to conduct the business of the town in the manner which we are entitled to expect from Town Fathers.  Exempted from that criticism are Councillors Dalton, Cunnane and English who have consistently opposed the madcap road scheme which by virtue of the High Court decision has now been consigned to the waste bin.

Important to Support our local talent

Two CD’s recently released by local singers have caught my attention. The Sullivan Brothers new release is their second CD following their extended coverage on the TV programme ‘You’re a Star.’ Comprising 12 songs all written and sung by the talented sons of Denis and Ann Sullivan of Avondale Drive, the CD is one which deserves to succeed. However, given the experiences of other Irish artists who find themselves deprived of airtime on our national radio, success, if it comes, may have to rely on local rather than national radio. I have been playing the CD ‘Weary’ in my car for the past three weeks and the more I listen to the Sullivan Brothers songs the more I like them. The backing musicians which include the exceptionally talented whistle player Brian Hughes provide excellent accompaniment to the singing of the Sullivan Brothers.

Two songs from their first album are repeated here ‘Keep holding on’, the signature tune of the album of the same name and ‘A little while’ get a second outing. The latest versions of both songs confirm the musical progress made by the singing brothers since their first release. This is a CD which not only the younger folk but others also might enjoy.

Certainly the second CD by local singer Jacinta O’Donnell will appeal to older listeners. It is a CD of favourite hymns in which Jacinta is joined by Geraldine Flanagan on piano. I have enjoyed Jacinta’s singing in St. Michael’s Parish Church for many years. Her beautiful rendition of church hymns has enriched many an occasion in the church from celebratory devotions of one kind or another to sad funeral services. Her distinctive singing voice so evenly pitched with crystal clear diction is always a joy to hear. It was Charles Acton, late music critic of the Irish Times who once wrote ‘music as an art combines the brain, the mind, the emotions, the heart and the revelations of the spirit of God.’ Jacinta O’Donnell consistently meets Acton’s exacting declaration when she sings in our local parish church and long may she do so.

Her CD ‘Hymns to our Lady’, consists of seven hymns, all well known to those of us who were members of church sodalities which were once a large part of our regulated church lives of younger days. Her singing of the traditional Gaelic hymn, ‘A Mhuire Mháthair’ is my favourite from this CD which I see is labelled Volume I and so holds out the prospect of another volume or volumes at some time in the near future.

Local artists, whether singers, writers, painters or participants in any artistic format, should be able to rely on local support and hopefully both the Sullivan Brothers and Jacinta O’Donnell will get that support in their home town.

The Arts Centre in Woodstock Street will, I understand, host a Sullivan Brothers concert some time in the autumn. The Arts Centre has put on a number of excellent concerts over the last three months, not all of which have attracted the audience numbers one might have expected. The Centre is a wonderful addition to the cultural outlets in Athy and is deserving of every local person’s support. If you would like to be kept informed of forthcoming events in the Arts Centre you should contact the Centre on (085) 2447221 or by email at athyarts@gmail.com and you will be given advance notice by email of whatever is planned for the Woodstock Street venue.

John Joyce, whom I never had the pleasure of meeting but with whom I corresponded some time ago, has recently written an account of the varied heritage of Graiguenamanagh. He devoted a chapter in his excellent book to ‘The Barrow Starch Works’ which he had referred to briefly in his previous book ‘Graiguenamanagh - A Town and its People’ published in 1993. The starch works was opened in 1842 by John Kelly and continued by his son William Patrick Kelly who had served as an officer in the Royal Artillery for a number of years. When he retired from the army Kelly returned to Graiguenamanagh to take charge of the Barrow Starch Works and married a Miss Lawlor from Athy in or around 1880. The business failed in 1890 and the Kellys left for England where the former Miss Lawlor died. William Kelly later remarried and while living in England began a writing career which saw the publication of several historical adventure novels which were very popular in their day. I recently acquired ‘The Cuban Treasure Island’ by William Patrick Kelly which was published in 1903 by George Routledge & Company, London. The author presented a copy of this book to his son which he inscribed ‘To Master W.F. Peer Kelly from his affectionate father the author William P. Kelly September 8th 1904’. That copy of Kelly’s book now sits on my shelves. Kelly died in 1916.

I am interested in hearing from anyone who can give me any information on the Miss Lawlor from Athy who married the former English Army Officer, William Patrick Kelly, who in the latter years of his life achieved a measure of fame and popularity as the author of several adventure novels.

Eye on the Past 730

I missed the recent launch of the Sullivan Brothers CD and to make amends I went out
immediately and bought the disc. The first time listening to their songs and I listened to them all, I had mixed feelings, but their songs grew in appeal, at least that's what I found after I had played the CD for the third time. Its a wonderful achievement for a singer to put out a record in much the same way as it is for an aspiring writer to publish a book. The Sullivan Brothers have achieved great success over the last twelve months and who knows, the CD may bring them further and even greater success into the future.

The last months of 2006 promise to bring a veritable avalanche of books and CD launches, what with the Sullivan's musical contribution soon to be followed by a CD of songs and stories relating to South Kildare by Colm Walsh. Brian Hughes, I gather, is working on his second CD and while I have no knowledge of when it will appear, I would hope it will issue in time to catch the Christmas market. Of course, the recording daddy of them all, Jack L issued another CD a few months ago and like his previous releases, it proved to be the work of an extraordinary musical talent.

Local writers are also busy, what with Zoltan Zinn Collis' book hitting the book shelves in September followed soon afterwards by John MacKenna's latest contribution to the literary scene. In November, the local Golf Club will publish its centenary history while the long awaited book on County Kildare in the County History series will be launched before Christmas.

There are a lot of good things happening in and around South Kildare and the local Town Hall will host a number of events during October and November. The Shackleton Autumn School kicks off on Friday evening, 27th and goes on for the following three days with a variety of events including some extremely interesting exhibitions with lectures, drama and music. There is literally something for everyone and every age over the October Bank Holiday weekend in the Town Hall and the Heritage Centre.

And the following Wednesday, Zoltan Zinn Collis will give a talk in the Town Hall. This is an event not to be missed and comes soon after the launch of his book “Final Witness – My journeyfrom the Holocaust to Ireland”. Three days later, the Heritage Centre will be the venue for the official launch of John MacKenna's latest book, “Things you should know”. Derek Mooney of radio and TV fame will launch the book which has already been tipped for literary honours in 2007. John MacKenna is presently touring his play “My Fathers Son”with The Mend and Makedo Theatre Company which tour finishes in Mullingar this week. November is definitely MacKenna's month for on Sunday 12th hisOratorio, “Still and Distant Voices” which he wrote some years ago to commemorate the involvement of local working men in World War 1 will be performed in the Methodist Church in Woodstock Street. Music for the Oratorio was composed by Mairead O'Flynn when she was a teacher in Scoil Mhichil Naofa some years ago. She is now Principal of the National School in Ballymore Eustace. Interestingly, Jack L's father, Sean Loughman and the golden voiced Jacinta O'Donnell are the singing stars of the Oratorio, more details of which will be given in next weeks Eye on the Past.

I got a letter from one of my Athy readers concerning my piece on the River Barrow canoe trip with particular reference to the railway bridge. You may recall that I mentioned that the bridge built in 1919 as part of the railway extension to Wolfhill was the first prestressed concrete bridge in Ireland. My correspondent tells me that his father, who was a well known building Contractor, claimed that “Coy” Moore's father mixed all the concrete for the bridge using a hand turned mixer. Can any other local confirm that story for me.

Another letter received this week was from a woman in Fairview, Dublin whose mother worked for the Hannon's in Ardreigh House in 1920. Her mother, who was from Castledermot, started working for the Hannon's who previously lived at Prumplestown, Castledermot when she was a month short of her fourteenth birthday. The pay was one pound a month which Mrs. Hannon sent home to the young girl's mother in Castledermot. The charming letter gave an account of life in Ardreigh House eighty six years ago and I smiled at the following reference which brought back memories of summer evenings spent by me and my friends at Sunnyside in the late 1950's. “Entertainment for the girls who worked in Ardreigh House consisted of walking out to Bray or into Athy. They seemed to know every shop worker who ever worked there at the time and indeed, my mother bought her groceries for two decades in Dublin from a man whom she had known when he served his time at the grocery in Athy”.

When I read the letter, I was prompted to think yet again of the treasures of memory and the life experiences which all of us have garned for ourselves and which for the most part are destined never to be shared with others. I have at various times in the past raised the desirability of encouraging older people to record their reminiscences of times past. There are some extraordinary stories to be learned, many extraordinary people with tales to tell which, if not told will soon be lost forever. I know that the late Billy Kelly was engaged on behalf of the library services of Kildare County Council in recording the folk memories of people living in his area of South Kildare but how far that project progressed, I cannot say. I do know that last year Laois County Council through its Heritage Officer instituted an oral history project with the intention of recording the reminiscences and the experiences of the older generation. In the mid 1930's the Folk Commission in conjunction with the primary schools throughout Ireland organised a Folklore collection scheme, the results of which now form a major part of the holdings in the Department of Folklore in University College, Dublin. This was a scheme organised on a twenty six county basis through the Folklore Commission and points the way as to how an oral history project could be established nationally if we are ever to hope to reclaim the untapped fields of enquiry dealing with the social life and labours of ordinary men and women. Now that Heritage Officers have been appointed by some County Councils, perhaps the Minister for the Environment might consider ensuring that the Heritage function in each county is directed so that a national scheme for recording oral history can be set up under the aegis of the Department while using the Heritage Officers in each County as the County organisers for the project.

Writing of the Minister reminds me that the Relief Road Project for Athy has been the subject most often raised with me by locals during the past week or so. Everyone wants to know what is happening about a new road. It would seem that precious little information is being given out by either Kildare County Council or the Town Council. The latest information I have is that housing developers at Gallowshill are required to build sections of the outer relief road where it borders the lands being developed for housing. As a result, I am told that approximately 180 metres of the outer relief road has been laid down and that further development of that road as far as the railway crossing can be expected, but when I don't know. I welcome the current Town Council Chairperson's invitation to the local people to make known their views on the relief road measures.
It makes a huge change from the attitude of a previous Council which when presented with a petition signed by more than 2,500 local people ignored the views expressed. Indeed, the local people who attended the Council meeting to present the petition were rather discourteously treated by some public representatives on that Council. Democracy was not best served that day in the Council Chamber. However, that is all water under the bridge now, and given the current Town Council's continuing attempts to get Kildare County Council to move on the relief road, we must be hopeful that the County Council, which moved with amazing speed when dealing with the Inner Relief Road Project in the lead up to the An Bord Pleanala oral hearing can bring the same energy and commitment to putting an acceptable Relief Road in place for the town of Athy.

The Sullivan Brothers CD “Keep Holding On” which I mentioned at the top of this article was dedicated to the memory of Mark Browne, a young man who died last year after a long battle against illness. I did not know Mark personally but knew his parents and following his funeral, I wrote some lines of appreciation for a young life so sadly lost. A few weeks ago, his father Kieran gave me a copy of a number of poems which he was inspired to write following the loss of his only son who was dearly loved and greatly missed. Having read them and particularly one poem entitled “Without Him”, I have to admit that I have seldom been moved so much by words written on a page The poem written by Kieran Browne following the death of his only child is very evocative and a fine piece of writing and reads:
My past I have lost
My past and my future
My hoped for dreams gone forever
Gone are the days I would never say never
No shared enjoyment of Milligan and Co.
No shared appreciation of symphonies and riffs
Of images on celluloid
The past to be viewed during the twilight years
No man to man chats
No disagreements on which players were prats
No nuptials now
No “Grandad” called out
Memories of body and soul being tortured and broken
No explanation at my bedside when it's my turn to die.