Page 99 of Heartbreak for the Irish Midwife

‘Good lad.’ Granda nodded in approval. ‘Now, ask me about your da’s name.’

What was this? More secrets? ‘Granda, you’re a terror!’ he declared affectionately. ‘Right. Is my father’s name really Henry, and why is it significant?’

Mother rolled her eyes. ‘I know this, so I’m not staying for this part.’ She sighed. ‘I’ll go and see if Henry has calmed down at all.’

Once she had gone, Granda pointed to Alex’s chair. ‘Sit yourself down, lad, for I’ve a quare tale to tell.’

Alex sat, his heart still thumping over Granda’s shockingly wonderful revelation. And there was, it seemed, more to come.

‘Fadó, fadó,’ Granda began with a flourish, then broke off to give Alex a mischievous grin. ‘That’s how we start the old tales in Irish, you know. It means, long, long ago. The story I’m about to tell you isn’t from that long ago, but we Irish know how to spin a good yarn.’

Irish. I’m Irish! Well, he had already known he was, but today’s revelations made it all the sweeter. ‘Will you teach me some words in Irish?’ he asked. ‘I already know mo chara. It means my friend.’ Dan had taught him that.

‘You have a friend who speaks the old tongue?’

‘I do. Dan from work.’

‘Well, here’s a couple of Irish phrases to start you off. They took our language, you know. Forced us to speak the English. I would be hit in school every time I spoke my mother tongue. They literally beat it out of me. Now, listen. Is fearr Gaeilge bhriste ná Béarla cliste. Do you know what that means?’

‘I have no idea. I think I heard you say something about Gaelic?’

‘Gaeilge. That’s the word for our language. Irish.’

‘Gael-ig-uh,’ Alex tried the word in his mouth. ‘What does the rest mean?’

‘Broken Irish is better than clever English. It tells you to always use what Irish words you have, and never worry about the fact you’re just learning.’

The force of this hit Alex like a blow. Why did he not know his mother tongue? In that moment he realised he had lost something special – all the more precious because it was so rare. ‘And the other phrase?’

‘Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam,’ Granda said softly. ‘A country without a language is a country without a soul.’

There was now a lump in Alex’s throat, and he vowed silently to learn as much Irish as he could. Granda would be his first teacher, but after Granda was gone he would find others.

‘Anyway, back to my tale,’ said Granda, clearly in his element. He’s been carrying this burden for a long, long time.

‘My own granda was called Pat John McCloy. He was born in seventeen hunderd and eighty-one, and he fought with the United Irishmen in 1798.’

Alex was gripped. Never could he have imagined what he was hearing. He had an ancestor who had fought for Irish freedom! The United Irishmen – Catholic, Protestant, and dissenter standing side by side. Suddenly it was more than words in a history book. ‘He won at Saintfield,’ Granda continued, ‘lost alongside McCracken at Antrim, and was taken by the British. He escaped execution because he was only a lad of seventeen, and went on to have a family of his own, including my father, Eamon Patrick McCloy.’

Confusion was once more racing through Alex’s mind. ‘McCloy? But—’

‘Aye, me da changed the family name to Lowe once he converted.’ He shrugged. ‘It was a common thing. But can you work out why I named one of my boys Henry?’

The answer came immediately. ‘After Henry Joy McCracken, the rebel leader!’

‘Exactly. He was a Presbyterian who believed in Irish freedom. All these divides between us are a load of guff!’

‘I agree with you, Granda.’ He swallowed. ‘So, will you come to my wedding?’

‘You just try and keep me away, son!’

* * *

Alex went for a pint with Mr Canavan, who bid him call him Mick, and who was keen to talk finances. Once he heard about Alex’s doctor earnings, and his ability to buy a good house for him and Maisie to live in, he whistled. ‘Our Maisie is set for life, and no mistake!’ He sent him a keen glance. ‘But yous’ll stay in Belfast?’

‘Definitely! We haven’t had the chance to plan properly yet, but I’d imagine we’ll look for a house somewhere around here.’

‘Good stuff. And the wedding?’