Tribute to Robert Stephens.ob.23/06/2014

There were nine of us.Now there are eight.There were seven boys and two girls.Now thee are six boys and two girls.I was the eldest.Robert was next.He was sixty in February gone by.I will be sixty three in August.I never thought he would pass over before me,but he did.Strange indeed are the ways of the Lord.I am devastated.I am not alone in this..Barring a period of six months in the latter end of his life we were lifelong friends and sounding boards and confidantes for each other.We always kept in touch.
And the lapse in friendship for that six months was caused by my concern for his well being,although he didn't see it that way.We reconciled a month before God took him and well and truly buried the hatchet.
In the end his death was a welcome relief as the physical and mental suffering he endured for far too long came to a conclusion,for which I for one fervently prayed.
Robert was the only true Meath man of our siblings.My mother Peggy Mac Cormack was living in the Curragh boreen with her people when she went into Labour and was rushed beside  a Parish Priest's Hat by Mattie (The Buller) Rodgers to Holles Street hospital to give birth.(Every car Mattie   owned had a Parish Priest's hat in the back seat to emphasise the care lavished on the car and enhance the resale value).
He was Christened in Saint Andrew's Church on the way home from Hospital to the Curragh Boreen.Soon afterwards we all moved to a house in 4 Tolka View,Blanchardstown where we were reared and from which we were all born,save myself who was born in Wales before my parents returned here with me as a baby and Robert.
Nine of us were reared in that house,which until I was sixteen years old had only two bed rooms,.one occupied by our parents and current infant and another by all the other kids,the girls having one bed and the lads having the others.I well remember sleeping four to the bed ,two at the head of the bed and two at the foot of the bed  and reducing to a mere two ,myself and Robert,when Tommy Mac Cormack ,Pat Rattigan and Paddy O Gorman extended the house by  two half bedrooms at the time when Mammy went to give birth to Barbara our youngest sister.( I had at sixteen years of age  no idea that she was even pregnant at the time,a contrast with later times when sixteen year olds were miser by far.)
We got a fierce shock but were delighted when Mammy landed home with a new sister.
All the while at twelve years of age my sister Kathleen cooked and catered for the full family and the builders.Some lassie.
The Mac Cormacks of Dunderry were GAA fanatics ,My grandfather Paddy  (auld Mac) and his brothers having played with the club and when we were holidaying here every summer as youngsters our uncle Tommy, who was Club Chairman for decades, immersed us fully in the ethos of the GAA.Joe an uncle was still playing at the time ,cap and all .and I remember many , many matches in Geraghty's field where we went  to see Joe playing.Harry Lee,who worked with Horans,was a great man to hold his own in a row,I well remember.Paddy Mac Cormack another uncle who  had retired from football at the time having given a lifetimes service as a player and mentor. .
In those pre electric and pre T.V. days in their house ( I think that it was only in the early sixties that electricity arrived here,my father wiring the house ),evenings were spent discussing the politics of the day,the prices of cattle and sheep and hurling and football by the light of the oil lamp.The discussions were animated and all joined in and indeed many's the person  called to the door and hearing the loud voices took off again for fear that murder would result.Of course it didn't but discussion was fierce and no holds were barred.
All the time we had a football and were playing at every opportunity.And Joe and Tommy joined in.And in those pre tractor days the paddocks in front of the house were pristine and every evening we had matches ,joined by cousins Noel and Michael and Tommy Dowd and Pete Conaty and the Garrys and the Healys ,fierce and furious as we imagined playing in the showgrounds in Navan and Croke Park.And many did subsequently
Robert wsa big for his age and owned the ball.If he was bet too often he would appropriate it  and make off  with  it , a habit he soon dropped under threat of a fierce beating.He was good even at that tender age.And our sporting education gathered pace,Robert developing into that scarce creature ,a player who could kick left and right and punch over the bar.And because of his size unbulliable by his peers.
Tommy fashioned our first hurleys with a spokes shave and broken bottles and introduced us to the game of hurling.He had a prodigious memory and he bought us our first bicycles.
In Blanchardstown too our sporting education developed under the tutelage of Paddy Murray in the National School who equally promoted Hurling and Football.Robert was outstanding in Schools football and hurling and as an aside developed a fierce interest in athletics .He used clean up in the annual sports held in the Priest's Field in Blanch winning medals for races of all distance,.He won them by the bucket full,a  feat repeated in Croke Park in the Cumann na Bunschoil sports days.
I wasn't great to run myself having butty legs( my grandfather Christened me the "Butt of Oak") but ironically given his huge height advantage could best him at the hurdles and high jump where I had some limited success in the sports in Blanch and Croker ,but nothing compared to him.
WE joined St. Brigids GAA Club at the behest of Frank Russell when I was ten and all our siblings joined up in due course.
Robert was better than most at the athletics and even thiough he ran bare footed was rarely beaten.Larry Ginnell,God rest him ,kept at him to keep it up and he did with good success ,but as we had no car at home and were depending on other car owning parents for lifts didn't get to as many races as we wished.I well remember passing Fairyhiouse race course with him and another group of pals on a Sunday bicycle spin and gazing at a local  competitor ,who Robert always had the measure of and who had said he was not driving to those races, passing the winning tape.That ended his athletics career and his sporting focus was totally on the hurling and football.
We both kicked senior football at sixteen years of age with Brigids.We instinctively knew where each other was lurking with intent..Robert was a good man to score even at that age and came in for special attention from certain opponents.while still a youngster.He  had his jaw broken and eye socket fractured in a Senior League match against Saint Marys of Saggart .He spent a fair while in Hospital drinking through a straw but remounted the horse  as it were as soon as possible and was back kicking football fairly soon as brave as ever.
Himself and myself were youngsters coming onto a mature team  which included a number of inter county football players ,including Dublin players Paddy Downey,Mattie Keane,Westmeath players Davy Nolan,John Galvin and the emerging Pat and Joe O Neill ,who transferred at an early age to UCD and Civil Service, unfortunately for the Club..
I was told by Davy at Roberts funeral that the team never reached its potential because it didn't realise how good it was and didn't apply itself properly,

We stayed loyal and kept kicking football and all my siblings joined up as their time came.
I saw Robert kicking 1-8 in a final minor Dublin trial and failing to make the cut.Brigids had absolutely no pull whatsoever at County level in those days.You had to be twice as good as the big club men to get even a look in.
Robert and the rest of us soldiered along together until the late 1980s with Brigids at Senior and latterly Intermediate level until c.1988 when there was a falling out with my siblings and the Club which resulted in their acrimonious departure.
I had the honour of captaining an intermediate football  team to a championships win in 1980 and Robert starred at full forward.Martin ,Cecil  and Benji our brothers also figured. I was inclined to be more a committee man than Robert ,serving in  every position except Treasurer and having emigrated to  Dunderry in 1986 was not involved in the dispute.As a family we had over a combined century of service to the Club under our belts and it was a sad way to end the connection.Our mother and indeed myself ,who had encouraged partticipation in the Club were particularly heartbroken.
Robert too was disappointed ,particularly as he had declined to transfer to Plunketts in the early 1970.s when approached and told that his Dublin chances would be greatly enhanced were he to transfer there.I was approached myself by Scoil O Conaill to transfer and declined also.
Life goes on however and my brothers and Robert  resurrected Erin go Brath ,an extinct club from Clonsilla /Westmanstown ,initially in the Drumheath area and via Porterstown to Littlepace where it now thrives at all levels ,providing sporting outlet for both males and females,adults and children.
Robert was instrumental in securing a grant for a concrete base for a forty foot adapted container for a pitch they used have adjacent to Mulhuddart graveyard in order  for the kids to tog out.But there were some local elements who did not want them there at all,who I don't know.I saw with my own eyes youngsters deliberately ride their horses across the pitch  when matches were in progress and some person or persons  went to the trouble of using an angle grinder to hole the container and pour petrol into it and torch it.That was the final straw in  the efforts to promote the game in that location and they moved to Porterstown and then Littlepace as outlined above.I am aware that he and the other volunteers bought basis gear for many children who could not afford it,more often than not from their own pockets.
Robert also plied his football trade with Dunderry transferring here in 1970 and winning an Intermediate Championship medal in 1970.In 1969 he starred at midfield alongside John Lynch in an under 16 football final against Kilcloon.I think that Tommy Garry,Michael Mc Cormack,Pat Cregan (RIP),Mc Ging from EAskaroon (RIP) were also on that team but stand to be corrected.
On the sad break up of his marriage a quarter century ago,which weighed very heavy on him Robert moved with his son Robert junior to Ballinlough .Kells,Co.Meath ,where he threw his lot in with the local GAA Club,graduating to the post of Chairman for a period of years.As I well know ,because he often discussed it with me ,he got involved in team management at juvenile and adult level and wrestled,as all good Chairmen do ,with fund raising and completing the deal on the shortage or excess of inter county tickets secured for Inter county matches.Many's the time we in Dunderry came to his aid in the latter comparttment.
IT was hard to rise Robert on the football field but even he at times reached his limit ..As he reached the end of his career at football he slowed down and put some weight on.Another younger brother was a coming star and played further out the field.He had the habit of beating several opponents before parting with the ball..by which stage the intended beneficiary of his passingly would be well marked and the pass,delivered under pressure ,far from accurate.
He was told to part with the ball immediately and deliver it accurately to Robert ,our scorer in chief,in a particular match,an instruction that went unheeded,as he persisted in beating the same men twice or three times before letting the ball go,usually out of reach of the overweight Robert.Unsavoury banter ensued with Robert being at the butt of it,being called a fat /slow/unfit ..... or words to that effect.
This went on for about twenty minutes when miracously the younger brother won the ball well out the field and a corridor opened up between him and Robert at the edge of the square.The younger made a direct beeline towards the elder who ran out to meet him.As they came closer the younger passed the ball to Rob,who let it over his shoulder and kept on running until he drew level with the younger.Rob levelled him with a hay maker on the chin and said over a prostrate brother "Now who is a fat ..... ? The ref had some laugh and said words to the effect that although he had never seen the likes that it was fully merited.
On a more serious note we were only ever sent off once in either football or hurling in our sporting lives.It happened in a football match against Innisfails in Balgriffin.Eddie Melvin was midfield and I was centre back.Rob was in the forwards.Melvin got a sneaky punch on the head from behind and squared up.My immediate opponent took off and landed another from behind on an occupied Eddie.I was on his shoulder ,tapped it,planted him and the row and the ruction soon began.Myself and Robert ended up back to back at the foot of a goalpost surrounded by a  horde of Innisfails players defending ourselves for dear life.When sanity returned we got line.Two weeks each I remember.Melvin walked free.
In all our years playing with the national school,with Brunner where we received our scholarshup funded secondary education and with Brigids and Ballinlough for him and Dunderry for me and in all the Civil Service competitions organised by Tom Woulfe were we were never ever sent off.And we played plenty and were well able to mix it if mixing was the order of the day.
HE didn't take to hurling as much as I did.I played with Eoghan Ruadh and New Irelands when Brigids had no team ,but when we resurrected Hurling in Brigids in the early seventies entering a junior hurling team he did line out in the first match against Lucan Sarsfields in Lucan.I was full forward and he forty yards.We were the babies of a seasoned team .
When I went into the square the full back,a seasoned and huge Garda Seargant grabbed me by the arm,escorted me to the twenty yard line,drew an imaginary line in it with the hurl and threatened to skin me if I crossed it at any stage during the match.Out I went to Rob,had a quiet word and asked him to let in any ball he could along the ground.In due course he did,I got out in front of the full back first to the ball and he came from behind threatening hell and damnation.I let the ball pass me and as it did turned and pulled ,making a perfect connection with it and an in rushing full bully.After that he played hurling.Well done Rob.
Rob did play junior footballs for the Dubs and both he and I were selected for a Divisional team picked  from all the junior and intermediate clubs in Dublin to compete in the Senior Championship.I was fortunate enough to be captain and I remember that Paddy Cullen was in goal.We were beat in the first round.
His other sporting interests were greyhound raving and horse racing.One dog he owned called Rodeen Tiger was trained by his great friend Tom Lynch and won a straight eight consecutive races before being promoted to his level of incompetence ( as everyone is eventually ) and entering a losing run .I travelled with him all over Leinster those times and gin and tonics on the run and cigars were the order of the day for the good times.Of course as s conscientious citizens we often stayed away over night to avoid the temptation of drink driving.Model citizens.
He also enquired a share in a horse at one stage.It was useless.He did get a chance to savour the thrill of the owners enclosure when Dundoire won an exciting race in Cheltenham and he gained entrance to the owners bar,He often told me that he thoroughly enjoyed that experience,Tom Lynch and his wife,his sister Mary and Willie Hyland,all doggie people were at his funeral Mass.He thought a lot of them.In fact he often reminisced about the days of his early twenties ,when the height of sophistication was to go to Phibsboro for a basket of Kentucky Fried chicken with Tom Lynch ,drive out to meet Dick Barron with his mobile chipper outside the old Morgan Schools to stock up further on the essentials and eat up in the car to the sounds of the then pop hits,.
We played a bit of soccer too in the soccer pitch art the back of the Greyhound bar which the Cleary's had leased to Beggsboro.Nothing formal mind you but fierce competitive never the less.We used also have fierce competitive against Brigids and Patricks Park on the green in front of Duckie O Briens on Mill Lane.Our team would be Tolka View,Herbert Road and Main Street.No prisoners taken.
I worked in the Estate Duty Office for many years and used enter a team in the Civil Service Soccer Cup and Leagues.Mostly bangers from Brigids and Blanchardstrown and few fellow civil servants.We often beat teams heavy with League  of Ireland soccer players.Robert ,Johnny Carr,Ray Carty,the Brennans ,Mattie Keane,Paul Bitzell sprin.g to a fading mind,These guys all showed up at the funeral.
And the families we were reared beside,the 10 Byrne kids and the 5 Mac Donnell kids and the 6 Carrs from Mulhuddart ,who spent most of their time in "Uncle Sean's and "Auntie  Carmels "on the Main Street and their cousins the Fagans  next door,Foxy ,Chew  (Tony) and Pauler were there in numbers.
And uncle Sean Byrne at 93 years young was in attendance too.
And nearly all the members of the football team of 1980 showed their respects.I hadn't seen John Byrne since then  but he showed and Aidan English and Dec Egan and Doyler from Doonbeg and all the Wades and Brennans and the three Hegarty brothers and Ben Dempsey and Liam Keating and Pat Roche  .Mattie Keane and Ownie Carroll and Georgie Kelly and Frank and Tricia and Davy Nolan and namesake Gerry and George Maybury,and Willie and Patsi and Tommy Phelan And Jem Mansfield and Ellis and Red Ponyton and Norbert and Gerry Fitzpatrick and young Power and his spouse Devanney. Sheila Hughes,Gerry Franey,Gilbert Messerman,Ciaran Williamson and Mattie Keane and Walter Corcoran.And Kilmesssan People and Ballinlough people and KIlmainham people and Erin go Brath people and Eoghan Ruadh people and a huge crowd from Dunderry GAA and all the neigbours from Dunderry and all the Mac Cormacks and the Mallons and Hartes.The two Patricks CArroll and O Reilly.And I know I have left out a host of others .And Declan sang Tim Finnegans Wake in his honour in the Vineyard afterwards.His favourite Irish song.And with these guys the years just melted away in the Vineyard.Still formidable men with an appreciative  eye,God bless them.
Robert went to school at three years of age.He wasn't over keen and had to be frogmarched there at the start but soon came to tolerate it as most of us did in those corporal punishment days.The bane of all our lives was a teacher called Gallagher who was a pure bollix and who hammered the hands from generations of pupils under his charge. He eventually got his just desserts Thank God and few would have anything good to say about him '
But we had one gem in our day in Paddy Murray who taught 5th and 6th class in our time in School and used to come in and teach us free gratis and on his own time each Saturday for 4 hours inter to help us pass the County Council Scholarship and enable us to get to Seconds School which were all fee paying then and way beyond the reach of nearly every pupil in Blanch.
When I  hear various educationalists nowadays belittling the Primary Cert as a low status exam my blood boils.Millions of pupils in my day and before were proud as punch to have it and made better citizens than these condescending snobs can ever aspire to.
Robert got the Scholarship and joined me in Brunner.He was in a heap sitting his Inter Cert and went down narrowly in one subject and was deemed to have failed the lot,which meant he lost the Scholarship,a serious turn in events.He went to the docks to consider  his options but thankfully came home to face the music.Mammy and Daddy made light of his results and paid for him to go on to the Leaving Cert which he flew through no problem.My mother was a feisty woman and was called by Buller Brennan to the school to discuss his post Inter Cert results.He cut to the chase and made the mistake of suggesting to her that he should apply to be a bus conductor.Not that there was anything wrong with being a bus conductor,but the ma  had loftier ambitions and gave Buller a fierce dressing down.
Afterwards Robert ,when in the throes of legal confusion with an apparently insoluble problem,often remarked to me half in jest that it was a pity he didn't take Bullers advice.
He sat his Leaving Cert in due course and passed but without enough honours to gain entrance to UCD to sit his BCL where  he wanted to study law.mainly because I was dabbling in studying it and had the Books and he could save on the price of them.He didn't get enough honours and enrolled in Mount Street Tech to repeat certain subjects and get enough honours.Which he did.
But first he had to earn the fees and enough to keep himself for the following year.So off the England with himself and Pat Sheehan a good school friend to garner the mullah.They worked at the buildings and he got a job as a bank clerk. And something I have never disclosed before, they landed home to me for a weeks holiday without anyone else knowing.Frank O Driscoll ,a work mate and brother of the late poet Dennis O Driscoll put them up for a few days in his flat and they spent a week thimbling around Leinster having a good time.
I remember Robert telling me that the Bank sent him on courses to advance himself and he was tempted to stay there and rang the DA to see what he thought.The DA was straight to the point and said "There is not a sniff of a job here.Stay the f...where you are and have a decent life .
But home he came and studied hard and got his BCL.
Those times many Solicitors charged would be apprentices a substantial fee to become apprenticed.Neither Robert nor anyone in our  family had the money for such a thing.Through a contact of Kathleen our sister a meeting was arranged with a Meath legal legend in Teach Scurlog in Trim to see what could be done.I drove Robert to that meeting on a Honda ninety motor bike and sat in on the meeting.It went well and the luminary put him in touch with Seamus Maguire in Blanchardstown who apprenticed him no bother.Seamus was good to Robert and Robert to Seamus.In due course he qualified and shortly after qualifying himself and Padaig Power set up in partnership in Dunboyne and afterwards in Blanchardstown where they soldered together for many years until about five years ago when Padraig retired and Robert continued in practise on his own.My wife#s sister Lucy was with him as Secretary to the very last.Padraig and Seamus remained firm and supportive friends to Robert  the very end and he and Padraig were often the very best of social buddies as well.
A man's social life is a dangerous place to dwell on..He married Marion Levin's in 1982 I thinkThey were married within a few days of the unexpected death of our father Dewi at the early age of 52  years.Our dad's  mother was alive at the time and was unable to attend the funeral of her son,so unselfishilyy totally they went to her for the honeymoon and to try and console her,I had the pleasure of going down to Rosslare with thm to get the boat to Fishguard ,minding the car during their holiday and driving to meet them from the boat in the same car.To say the least he was not pleased with the vehicle on his return.
They settled first in Huntstown,Mulhuddart and afterwards in Roselawn View ,Castleknock where he evevtually died'.Robert Junior was born to great jubilation in due course and was the joy of his parents .When Rob was about seven unhappy differences arose between husband and wife and they separated,Rob moving to Ballinlough where he spent the last quarter century of his life and where Junior was reared thereafter.
For the last sixteen years of his life Margaret Mac Donald,was his life partner and she nursed him through the most sickening effects of the various treatments he recieved to alleviate the twin cancers he suffered.
About seven years ago cancer of his tongue and neck was diagnosed.He received surgery of his neck and nodes followed by  chemo and radiation treatment.He was in the clear thankfully for a few years until it re emerged in his lung.Despite more chemotherapy again and the bravest and most wilful of battles of battles he succumbed eventually last week in Roselawn View .
The cancers destroyed him physically and mentally in the end.They pitted him in the depths of despair,the elation of false hope the dungeons of lost hope and the treatments he endured along the way destroyed his health.
He was a brave and stubborn man who tried mightily till the very end to keep going job wise and socially .
He did inform me in one of the few moments we had alone a few weeks before his death that the doctors had told him that there was no hope for him.This totally floored him.and hope flew out the window.
He kept information very much to himself and certainly never told me the imminence of his demise.The rapid deteriotaion of his body the last few weeks of his life told its own story however and one didn't need a medical report to know his time was short.
He died of a Monday.I last saw him on the previous Sunday morning and he was struggling with a renewed infection of his lungs.My last words to him were was he comfortable and if not  where hurt.He pointed to his chest and remedial action was immediately taken to relieve his discomfort.
Although separated from his wife fora quarter century he never divorced .He was a traditional Catholic in this regard and I had the sad chance to say an Act of Contrition in his ear when alone with him and at his request.He had Communion and the Last Rites before he died .I am glad.
I am satisfied he could not have been better minded in his run up to death .The twice daily visits of nursing staff and the continuous presence of pallative staff was of the highest order and nothing was left to chance.
Robert had many highs in his life with a variety of people and equally suffered a series of lows.He was lucky some of the time and unlucky other times.
At all times and through thick and thine loved his son Robert Junior totally and unconditionally.
He was actuially adored by a number of people and liked totally by a huge number of people a fact attested to by the huge turnout at  his funeral.
Due to a mix up with dates the singers originally hired to perform at his funeral Mass could not attend.An organist and famous tenor called Damian Mac Gorian was hijacked by our Aoife on the way to perform in the Aras .
I can see Robert in my mind's eye saying of the falling through of the original singer "breurtal " and of the appearance of the replacement "only the best for the best "with a tweinkle in his eye.
Robert stole the hearts of many and is deeply mourned by them.I loved him and iI am not alone.There is a void in my soul I cannot fill and I am only his brother.There are others more  deeply inflicted.
Father Cyril who officiated at his funeral hit the nail on the emotional rollercoaster he rode for the latter years of his life and is the sort of man that makes you proud to be a Catholic.
Those close to him did all thay could and all he allowed them to do for him in his suffering but you always feel you could have done more.
I certainly feel like that and totally regret that we never had the one chance to what that we long ago agreed to do and that was to ,just once,book into a rural hotel ,sample a smoke from each cigarette made and have a tipple feom each drink stocked.Just the once for the hell of it and for old time#s sake.
Slan go Foill mo Chara dilis.

Robert Stephens ob.23/06/2014

Our beloved brother and father of Robert Junior  died in the evening of 23/06/2014 and is now at peace ,his ordeal thankfully ended.He remains will be reposing at 14 Roselawn View ,Castleknock,D 15,his former residence ,where his days came to a comfortable end ,from 5.00p.m to 7.00 p.m. this evening,whence they will depart for his home at Ballinlough,Kells for his wake this evening.
His funeral Mass is scheduled for St.Brigids Church ,Blanchardstown at 11.00 am. tomorrow Wednesday,June 25th,following which he will be interred in Mulhuddard Cemetery beside our late Father and Mother.
May he rest in Peace.

Dunderry V Drumree I.H.C.16/06/2014.

On one of those rare evenings ,with the sun splitting the stones,we took on Drumree in the first round at a resplendent Kilmessan this evening at 7.30.There was a decent crowd present to witness the match and I imagine the crowd was boosted by the news that Dunderry would compete against Drumree at half time at under 8 and under 10 level in exhibition matches.
This gave me some pride as I had two sons involved with the adult team and a grandson Padraig,Finn's son involved at under eight level and thanks be to God  I was still alive to witness all this.
Any feeling of exultation I had turned to apprehension when I saw how the team lined out and who we were missing.
We lined out as follows:-

                                                         Damian Bruton
Brendan Wright                             Davy Mac Cormack                   Conor Dempsey        

Killian Minogue                              Ted Dowd                                     Conor O Shea

                       Liam Dempsey                              Garrett Dooley

Davy Gilkinson                                Finn Stephens ( C)                 Johnny Moran

Luke Martyn                                    Kit Harrington                         Conor (Bomber Farrell )

Davy (Sprog )Stephens ,our normal and good corner back and Thomas Doherty ,our goalie this long time were sidelined through injury. Two good men ,who I knew full well would be missed badly.And I wasn't gone on the positional changes either.Wright was playing at full forward until this,Conor Dempsey at number 5 and Bomber is clearly not suited to the corner.In addition Damian Bruton had not held a hurley in competition for 18 months.He is not short of courage however but it was expecting far too much to put a man so short of practise in such a vital position .I attach no blame whatsoever to him for what transpired.
Drumree are a ficely competitive outfit and Ted had coached them these last two years.One of their boys is involved at managerial  level with us this year ,so you would imagine that no secrets would lie buried.( Our Drumree man had gone on holidays ).There is a fierce rivalry between the teams and no quarter was sought or given.
The warriors squared up for the throw in.In the blink of an eye Finn had registered a minor.But then my worst fears were realized,Not once ,not twice but thrice Drumree registered goals of egg yolk sort.And tagged on five points and a further decent goal before half time,Johnny Moran,having his best game ever for us scored another minor and Gilky scored another two to make the half time score  4-6 y top 0-4 for Drumree.
Everything they touched turned to gold and the little possession we got turned to lead.We were bewildered and out of sorts and the half time whistle couldn't,t come quick enough.The underage entertainment provided a mild distraction and Drumree were back out early to resume battle.Such was the delay with our boys coming out ithat I wondered what in the name of God and the name of the Gaelic Game was going on,Was there a row in the camp ?I don't know but when we did re emerge there was more of a pep in our step and a number of positional changes.Doc was in goals,Bomber and Garrett swapped positions and O Shea was at number 6,with Ted going to the wing.But could we pull back a 14 point deficit  and more importantly restore some pride in the jersey.
Well  we didn't lie down and with renewed determination started to whittle down the deficit with 5 consecutive poins to their 2.We needed a goal and we delivered ,but they pulled back another 2 points.We kept at it and .After Wright had been moved to the forwards and Bruton, Ryan and Feeney   introduced we rattled in a goal from Gilky .And another and another ,both from Wright frees ,as far as I could see.Finn had  started to play a Captain's part and  run at them and this helped us to start goaling.One of his points clipped the cross bar and went over instead of under.Such is life.
All told we scored 3-6 to their 5 points in the second half ,at one stage coming within four  points of them.But the gap was too big and we finished  defiantly on a scoreline of 4-11 against our 3-10.A four  point defeat but a hell of a lot better than the 14 point gap at half time.
And don't let anyone tell you that Drumree took their foot off the pedal.They did not.
Fair dues to our boys they fought to the bitter end and never gave up.
Our management will have learned much from this display.
We missed enough scorable frees to make a difference and we will have to work on this.Gilky scored a 0-5  from frees and 1-1 from play,Moran 0-1 ,Finn 0-2,Bomber 0-1  and Wright 2-0 from frees..Killian Minogue suffered a head or neck injury.We hope he will be all right.
We will have to resume winning ways quam cellerime.
Afterwards I met Mairead Delaney whose son was playing at number 8 for Drumree.I am unsure what position she holds in the County Board but can assure that she is far from a token woman and earned her position by her qualities as a person and not because of the shape of her gonads.

Communion Day in Rathcairn.

Today my grandson Cormack Mac Donagh made his First Holy Communion in Rathcairn Church as gaeilge.He goes to school in Rathcairn and lives in Lambay with his parents Terry Mac Donagh and his wife Jacinta ,my daughter.
He is a lovely little fella and well reared.He is a wizard on the computer and regards my hesitancy with it with disdain tinged with amusement.
It was a lovely day weather wise and the Church was resplendent and totally packed out.Even after standing room only a sizable number had to stand outside and listen to the ceremony.Me included.My better half got inside and told me that the way that the children presented the gifts to the Priest brought a tear to her eyes such was the care and pride exhibited by them in this their first public Church duty.
I stood outside at an opn window and heard the whole thing as gaeilge.The school choir,the  school orchestra and the organist were outstanding as was the celebrant who spoke a dialect of Irish I could understand.
Cormack looked smashing in a fine suit with shiort and tie and it brought back memories of my own kids Communion day when they were similarly attired.And indeed myself and my brothers,Some things never change thank God.
Afterwards we were treated to light refreshments in the Halla attached to the School and this went down a treat.Then back to Mac Donagh's house where we were again treated to a spread that would do justice to a King.
Alla my children and their spouses and a myriad of others were feated and all fourteen grandchildren were present.Thea bouncy castle and swings were all the rage and a smashing family gathering helped Cormack celebrate his Wonderful day in style.
And he got loads of cards with attachments of the best kind to help celebrate his Communion and his birthday.
Thea anti Catholic vitriol spewed out by the atheist media in this land has not found its way to this Parish nor any others hereabouts Buiochas le Dia.
A huge vote of thnks must go to all concerned especially the teachers ,who helped prepare the children so well.

Daviin Power in frame for Garda Commissioner job?

The usual suspects are out of the traps in implying that religious sisters dumped over 800 bodies of babies in their care into a septic tank in Tuam in County Galway and in condemning the Order involved of outrageous criminality in so doing.This is based on the recollection of two twelve year old boys and the  research of a local historian and is a total lie.
The presumption of innocence afforded to all citizens is as per usual not afforded to Catholic religious and amongst other unfounded allegations I have heard so far on RTE are that many nuns were themselves illegitimate,that they involved the children in illegal drug teasting,that the places involved were on a par with the concentration camps of the Nazis where over six million people were murdered.and that unspecified crimes were committed.The lie that breast feeding was forbidden is also being put about.
This is what is called a witch hunt and all or some of the above allegations have been spread worldwide as undisputed fact.The people responsible for this denigration of our ancestors are guilty of treachery in my view.
AS per usual RTE is leading the charges here,particularly Mary Wilson and David Davin Power who present a completely one sided analysis of the situation and interview nearly solely  those who blame the nuns and the Church and frame questions in such a way that nearly the only answer possible is to appropriate blame to the nuns.
Drive time is  on radio constantly  belittling the action's of the Gardai and paintings them as idiots in relation to the matter.Clearly they knows better than the Gardai  how to investigate the matter for criminality and are not  slow to say so.Is this investigation by Radio ?
There is nothing stopping him from jacking up in RTE ,applying for admission to the Gardai and qualifying himself in these matters.Clearly he can run for the position of Garda Commissioner he is so knowledgeable.
And the RTE religious affairs correspondence has as per usual slithered in the suggestion that because a nun in a home in Cork was dismissed for allowing children go about with putrid nappies that that incident may offers a clue as to why 800 babies were allegedly buried in the septic tank.
This is akin to saying that the clear anti Catholic bias permanently displayed by RTE may find an explanation in the fact that they had to admit libelling a Catholic priest and paying him compensation.
Although I strongly suspect that the anti Catholic bias may have more to do with the liberal and secular agenda so blatantly promulgated by the station and the fact that many of the staff are either divorced ,have two or more living husbands or wives as the case may be  or are blatant promulgators of the homosexual lifestyle ,all of which the Catholic and many other Churches have problems with.
Unlimited air time is given to the Justines,Ferguses,Colms  and their ilk by blatantly biased presenters and their ilk to spread their anti Catholic racist agenda and whip up hatred against octogenarian nuns who stepped into the breach when the families of the mothers and their children ran them from their homes.As per usual the State did stand idly by and did sfa except wring its hands.
The biggest failure is that of journalists ,professionals and academics from those days  who were if anything more useless than their present day professional descendants who failed to highlight the scandals .IF SCANDALs there were at all by the standards of the time's we are talking about..
Any attempt to dismiss the  matter by inferring community guilt is as absurd as blaming the entire populace for the economic mess we are in by saying  we all partied.All of us did not party.And all of us most definitely did not run our daughters  and children into homes.
There must be hundreds of thousands of families who took it on the chin,didn't give a fig about what the neighbours thought ,kept the child and grandchild at home and reared the latter as an extra child of their own.
And inciting racial hatred against the nuns and the churches is nothing new to the liberal and secular sisterhood and brotherhood.They are at it for years and people are fed up with them.See  what happened the Labour Party in the recent elections.This is by far the most secular and anti religion party in Ireland, a member of which thought it hilarious to tell me that the Irish for priest was paedophile.
If we are going to look at the matter in an honest manner let us include in the examination the facts of infanticide and the number of  women guilty of this who lived in the homes,the incidence of syphilis in children and mothers and why they were not in hospitals rather than these homes,the numbers of children and mothers who suffered from t.b. starvation, neglect and other diseases before they were sent to or sought admission to these homes.And let us judge the mortality rate by that applicable in fever and comprable hospitals where many children ought have been in receipt of medical care.
And let us not fall into the trap of totally excusing the women themselves and their families from close scrutiny and regarding them as lesser human beings who had no willpower of their own and who lacked the capacity to stand up for themselves .I have known women who would now be over 100  years old.They were as well able to stand up for themselves as any of their gender since born.So to dismiss them as helpless morons who had no control over their destinies and that of their children is a total nonsense.
Of course the fannyista will insist that they be excluded from examination and that their word be taken as Gospel without challenge and that they be compensated without question..A state of affairs they will not afford to their religious sisters.
They say that where there is a will there is a relative .We will see now that where there is a whiff of money there will be a host of victims worldwide in the queue.
I for one am fed up seeing my tax money going out hand over fist to these victims.Let them look to the real sources of their grievances,themselves or their families.
I would exempt from this cases where the State through neglect or the Courts were directly responsible for injustice.
And Iwould put a time limit on it.But I  would include the results of the famine and its consequences. in the ambit of the enquiry.
The Brits have never compensated us for the genocjde perpetrated during the eras they misruled the roost.
But seeing that they recently most cetainly did not afford a decent burial to preborn babies  disposed of them by incinerating them beside the trash of the abortion mills operated there ,they are unlikely to cough up anything at all.

Dunderry V Kildalkey u 14 Camogie Final 01/06/2014

The adventure continued on a smashing Sunday morning in a resplendent and well attended Athboy on a morning that would warm the cockles of your heart.
Suzanne Kelly and her astute selectors,Donie Mooney and Caroline Duffy  lined out the team as follows:-

                                                         Kaylinn Mooney

Katie Duffy                                      Hannah Morgan                          Emily Lynch

Lauren Finnegan                              Helana Garry                              Deirdre Mac Hale

                               Katie Buchanan                                Orla Daly

Ellie Keenan                                   Niamh Keaveney                        Sadbh Nelson

Katie Callaghan                              Laura Casserly                            Grace Stenson

Subs.Rachel Duffy, Aine O Brien,Lauren Travers,
Ciara Huesoff.

I thought this selection exactly reflected the semi final performance and offered the best opportunity to at last garner some winning silverware for this team who have exhibited such perseveres in trying their  best this last five years.Not to mention their management.
Kildalkey are a serious proposition in any contest with the Caman and have made serious progress sine starting up Camogie only a few short years ago.Must be something in the water there.
They matched us for size .
Nothing wrong with the Dunderry water either .
The ball is in the game is on.We are strong up the middle.So are they.In about six positions we dominate.In the balance they have the edge.After initial sparring the game enters a pattern.We break even at midfield but they have an edge and our backs are under constant and sustained pressure.We break for two isolated points.They score six goals.
We are bursting ourselves but to no avail.they are slightly sweeter and have a number 14 who is as good for her age as I have ever seen.And she is not alone.
The half time whistle blows.
Suzie tries to raise morale and truthfully says that the top goal is the scoring goal.Give it a lash she says.And they do.Rachel Duffy is now in goals and Kaylinn is in the forwards.But within a short time Katie Buchanan and Grace Stenson are forced ashore by Knee and shoulder injuries.(none serious as far as I know.).You would fear for us now.
Helena has her hands full now and is breaking even with her marker at best.The vanquished Athboy opponents from the semi final are there cheering us ,but mainly her on.A vignette shows that practise makes perfect.During a long break in play she practices her pucking with a friend on the sideline.
We don't give up and struggle manfully ( womanfully ? ) to the end throwing all  in our armoury at them.
WE score 2-2 to their 2-4 ,a remarkable achievement  given our injuries.Maybe just maybe they took the foot off the pedal slightly.
We were beat fair and square by a superior team on this occasion.No excuses.
Orla Daley played out of her skin for the  hour.Katie e Buchanan for as long as she was on and the rest gave it all they had.Ellie Keenan made some telling hooks as well as playing well in general play But Katie Duffy to me played as plucky a game as you could wish.
No shame girls.Ye have runner up medals .As an aside I played from 10 yeas to twenty one years and won only one  winners medal in all those  years. I guarantee that if ye stick with the mentors ye have ye will do far better.
Thanks for the adventure.
And thanks for inviting me back to the Clubhouse for the very tasty refreshments served up with such hospitality.                     

Dunderry V Clann na Gael U.14 Camogie 27/05/2014

On an idyllic Tuesday evening in Athboy these neighbouring teams squared up in the semi final of this competition.Clanns are not that long competing at Camogie at all so it is a feather in their cap to have reached this far in the competition,I didn't know what to expect from them but  figured that they must be fairly good as bad teams don't advance that far.I had seen our team play before and was flabbergasted at the improvement in their play since last year.

This team has been together since they were eight years old and have enjoyed little success over the years but this year all the training under the expert tutelage of manager Suzanne Kelly (now Finnegan ) and selectors Caroline Duffy and Donie Mooney is sure paying off and they have turned inside out.
All three have skin in the game in that they have  children playing and treat all the girls as if they were their own.Suzanne I trained myself since she was a kid and she was always top drawer.Caroline Daly was an outstanding player with Trim who we always beat those days,thank God and is a great addition to the Club.Donie is a great all round Gael from a family of Gaels of impeccable pedigree and all the girls are from well and long established GAA families.
All the players are respectful to their mentors and a credit to the Club.
I witnessed one of the best games I have seen this year and one which had the entire audience riveted to the very last puck of the ball.
Dunderry Team.
                                            Rachel Duffy
Katie Duffy                             Hannah                         Helena Garry

Lauren Finnegan                Deirdre Mac Hale                 Emily Lynch

               Orla Daly                           Katie Buchanan
Sadbh Nelson                       Laura Cassidy                       Ellie Keenan

Grace Stenson                      Niamh Keaveney                 Kaylinn Mooney

Sub used .Katie Callaghan.

Dunderry are well able to hurl and have all the skills.They are physically strong up the middle and the entire team are full of fighting spirit .And so are Clanns.And a daughter of Graham Geraghty played at number 11 and is some hurler.She has plenty of support and was as dangerous as her auld fella was when she got a sniff of a loose ball.They dominated the first half and we got hard to settle.The defence was under tremendous pressure in the first quarter and it took great tenacity and bravery to hold out against a fierce Clann onslaught.From the goalie to both midfielders we held resolute and how a clatter of goals didn't rattle the onion bag  is beyond me.But cometh the hour cometh the woman and Helena Garry gradually emerged as an unbreakable ford which Clanns could not forge.Following in the footsteps of her aunt Teresa Rattigan who was some player in her day.And the management did the master stroke  and switched her on to the young Geraghty lassie and Helena won that battle hands down.Never the less we went in at half time down 1-3 to 0-1,the bold Helena  scoring our solitary point.
The management rallied the troops and the lusty roar  "one,two three Dundrrry " rose pheasants on the faraway bog.We were now playing into the town goal and immediately launched into attacking mode.There was an ever so slight uncertainty in the Clann defence and a long distance free  found its way into the Clann net.Game on.
Then an event you might not see in a lifetime's game watching.One of the Clanns better players got possession at the midway line proceeded to jink through our lassies forgot the change of ends and scored an absolutely brilliant own goal.God help her but these things happen.She was a brilliant player before this and remains a brilliant player .
But our lassies smelled blood and raised their game in every department and added a third goal .
It took Clanns some time to get their act together  but they did rise again and reeled in a goal and a point to draw level at the cusp of time.Grace Stenson scored a goal I think and either Orla Daly ,Katie Buchanan or Katie Callaghan ,a half Kilmessan woman and the spit of her young mother when she hurled ,scored the other.(With helmets on it is hard at times to recognise the players.).
Extra time so ,ten minutes each half.
Now it was Clanns time to exert pressure and our defence were again stubborn in their resistance and held out against fierce pressure.We were lucky to draw a point apiece at full time.
It was down to willpower now and we rose to the challenge.Again the weakness in the Clanns defence appeared..We rattled in 1-3 to their 0-1 and and deservedly so.And the joy was unbridled and proper order.
On the day Helana Garry was our best by a whisker.
Granny.Grandad,Daddy ,Mammy,and grandchildren Mooney ,true blues all were on a high.
This management team is excellent and know their onions.
All the girls and the subs should take a bow.Some team.
This Sunday at 11.00 a.m. they play Kildalkey in the Final at the same venue.
Bring it on. agus beidh me ann.

Heffo's Mini Army on the March.

As a Dub I totally admire what Kevin Heffernan did for Dublin Football and thought that his name was unique.I have since learned that he was not the sole proprietor of that name.There resides in our Parish another Gael with this moniker.This man is a native of Limerick and is putting in and has put in considerable time and effort into the promotion of hurling at underage level in our Club.
I know him and have often seen him training the younger kids in the pitch.It is easy to see that he is steeped fully in the universal ethos of the GAA and is no johnny come lately into our traditions.
He gives as much time and attention to the weakest players as to the strongest,always the mark of a true Gael,man , and Club man.
I had the great pleasure lately of stumbling in to the pitch lately and was totally entranced by the skills and effort of this team in winning through the semi final of this Shield competition against a game Drumree Team.
I promised myself I would go to the Final if possible.
And last Monday week ( 19/05/2014) I faced a fierce dilemma.The under 12 Shield Final between Rathoat and Dunderry was on at 7.00 p.m.in Kilmessan.
Dunderry were playing the same Club at 7.30 in Dunderry in Intermediate Hurling and a son of mine  is captain .And a daughter Mags was playing Intermediate Camogie with Navan O Mahonys against Kilmessan in Navan at 7.30.And I had a crucifying chest infection and other health issues.
Anyhow I decided to go to a bit of each and see how it would develop.
So first I headed for the Shield Final in Kilmessan,Got there about 10 minutes before half time on a hateful and overcast evening.Drizzle and damp and not nice.
Met a few of our older kids heading with hurleys to the hurling wall in Kilmessan.Dream on Daithi.Will we got one ?
Then saw the life blood of the GAA at active duty in Kilmessan.There were a half dozen Kilmessan men bursting themselves replacing the netting behind the upper goal.In the rain and no bother.Fair dues.
Back to the game.First any score carries the same value,Goal or point all the same.And HEffo ,and his able assistants,Hickey and Gallagher were prowling the line with intent.
All had skin in the game,in that they all had kids involved.
IT is a mark of a team that if you are happy for your own kid to play with it is worth having.And this team is worth having.
The players involved were :-
Jack Fagan,
Daire O Leary.
Mark Coffey,
Niall O Leary,
Connor Mulligan.
Cormac Heffernan.
Lee Walsh,(Capt )
Issac Mc Keever,
T.J.Loughran,
Rachel Duffy,
Ryan Walsh,
Kane Lewis,
Cormack Hickey.
Oisin Heffernan,
Diarmuid Heffernan,
William Tracey,
Ben Feeney,
Aaron O Connor.
There was a fair crowd there from Dunderry.I spotted Freda ,who still hurls with our Camogie team egging on her son and nephew.And a clatter of others.
The game was a ding dong affair between two skillful and competitive teams cheered on with enthuasism by their parents..From where I stood the Dunderry mentors questioned the referee not at all whereas some of the Ratho supporters were too vociferous.Not great example to young kids.
On the field of play there was very little between them but our defence was  under fierce and sustained pressure much of the time but defended like tigers,
We are strong up the middle but so were they,
All our players are skillful and gutsy.No cowards here.
We went in ahead by 4 scores to three as far as I could see.
In the second half there was huge effort put in by both sides and the defence was again magnificient.
It is clear that the mentors know full well how to place a team to full advantage as the lads up the middle were all outstanding and were marginally better and more  skilful than the opposition.
I could pick out a few for special mention but don#t like doing this at such a  young age.But believe you me there are some wonderful players on view and all are a great credit to the Club.
From what I can see they are all from long established GAA families and are well integrated into the  ethos of our Club.
They won by 9 scores to 5 scores
After they went back to the Clubhouse in Dunderry and were given a standing ovation by the Intermediate Hurlers who were also victorious.
Good enening for Dunderry.
It escapes me how it was not possible to have both games in the same venue.I would like to have seen both matches as would all the players involved I am sure.
As a matter iof interest Mags team  also won.
On a personal level I would like to compliment the mentors and families for producing such a well mannered ,respectful competitive and skillful bunch of children for our Club.From the four corners of the Parish Ye should be proud.

They are reaping just as they sowed.

My gut feeling about the elections has been accurate enough.Labour has utterly failed to learn from the Meath East bye election and jettison the womb raiders,the sneerers at hetrosexuals ,the anti Catholic bigots it harbours in droves and the stickies who talk a good game but never togged out in the game of life and will leave a husk of a party in its wake.
They are now the sole refuge of the atheists,the gay and lesbian movement and trade unionists who are stuck so far up their holes that they cannot and will not let go.
Oh and I forget the feminists men haters who are now being wheeled out to spin the lie that the female gonad somehow trumps the male gonad when it comes to governance.Yep people, let more like them into the fold and watch your support sink down to 2 %.
You do see how Joan "SEXIST "Burton has rallied the troops in Dublin West and how so few people admire her that Labour failed to register at all in the bye election.Yep get more like her on board.There are plenty to be found drawing handy money from our hard earned taxes in minor p professorships in vague university's polishing their gonads and further demeaning their sisters with the message of academic prostitution (i.e possession of a fanny is the bees knees ).
And the man who knows more than the Pope and thought himself fit to admonish his Church has bought into this agenda hook,line and sinker.
Enda has proven to be the spiritually successor of Cromwell in words and action.He has enough  apostles lurking in the Churches and GAA clubs of Ireland spying on the goings ons to know full well how much he and his Junior partners are actively hated by the Greter populace.
Well it has only started.
And RTE and the general media are so divorced from reality that it hasn't and hadn't a clue.
Here's some free advice for those genuine enough to exercise compassion.
1.Each week  abolish a quango.
2.Each week unravel and unpick one piece of legislation enacted these four  years back.
3.Each week delegislate one piece of Euro legislation enacted without Dail Scrutiny.
4.Apologise and make restitution for each suicide and economic emigrant that happened in your watch.
5.Try telling the truth.

Fir Breaga out of control

The political establishment clearly take us, the electorate, as total gob shites,with the memory of an amoebae.That is when they are not quietly mining the ore from the voluntary charity sector to where they migrate when the onus of quarrying the public lucre becomes too barefaced even for themselves and their voracious supporters.
We now know that Fine Gael,Fine Fail,Labour and P.D Grandees and their pals can slither into the long grass of the charity sector and continue quietly for decades to sip from the endless gravy train all the while spreading their vile principles of political greed via an unquestioning and seamless media who won't let the cat out of the bag .
Just as it falls into step with the lie that the tsunami of homelessness snuck us on us.Nothing  could be further from the truth.
I have consistently compared this Government to that of Cromwell.
It has been the messenger boy of a foreign agent,the troika,and has been vigilant beyond duty in implementing the anti Irish policies of its employers.
There is talk of" rats" lately.Queen of the species herself,and Queen of the scratches ,Joan actively encourages them.She wants neighbour to inform on neighbour.
But a much deeper definition of the species is of someone so low that there is no hole dirty enough that s/he won't climb into it.
Since this Government's ascension to power,there has been no part of the citizen's life that the rats have not been forced into to extracts whatever pitiable tit bit they  can from the unfortunate victim.They have burrowed into your pension,your van tax,your wage slip.your septic tank.the price of  your heating,the roof over your head.and the water that falls from the skies.
And anyone with initiative they especially hate.
They attack the  young,the youth,the middle aged,the healthy,and especially the old and elderly disabled.
They are intent on making decent people into bowsies and breaking the hearts of a proud race.
They have installed hail fellow well met economists into all the important finance ministries whose non answer to the question of homeliness is to emit a nervous and self deprecating smirk and academic sleight of hat and and treat the matter as a hilarious quirk of nature and promise to look into it.
And they wheel out tight lipped and heartless hussies who pretend that this has caught them by surprise.
Truth is that they all worked ceaselessly to so impoverish us so  that homelessness,they hoped ,would be socially accepted by a broke people.
Run the fuckers back to the holes they escaped from and never let them see the light of day again.
What a collection of bowsies.

Dunderry V Ballinabrackey .IFC 17/5/2014

Today was a grand Spring day ,as good as it gets.Nobody here will be aping the Yanks in erecting weather rooms at their offices to better pamper their  poor vapid employees to better enjoy the awful weather here.What a condescending bunch of Yankees.
Around Dunderry a good day to be alive.
Personally I have b been as sick as a rabid dog for a week.My stroked arm is giving me hell.I irrevocably destroyed me stroke twisted knee thirty years ago to the extent that ligaments are non existent,cartilage is problematic and the slightest divergence from the direct line forward is severely punished .This week I twisted it.The pain was unbearable any rate,
On top of this I developed a chest infection which led to a tsunami of phlegm forming In my lungs and staying stubbornly there flowing from one side to the other but refusing to do the decent thing and erupt through my throat into infinity and back,
NO matter how I Lay there were eruptions aplenty and unceasing.I coughed for Ireland and the only little sleep I got was sitting up in a chair.
Driven by  misery to the triple attack I surrendered to the mercies of my harried G.P.on Friday.
Painkillers,steroids ,anti bio tics,inhalers,anti hystiems etc and the combination started to kick in on Saturday.
I left the bed in one piece.Our Blaithin was in situ,being spoiled by Agnes  ably assisted by her two year old cousin Chloe who had to be stopped from cuddling her to death as Jacinta dragged Cormack to Dublin to equip him for his First Holy Communion.On the bus,.Our Claire a nurse gave me the one over.Passed..
I didn't feel great and mosied off down to the farm to enjoy better the fresh air and the grand weather and do like my uncle Joe used do.That is look at the cattle ating and just living.I strongly recommend it and now know how he so loved farming.
Totally undecided  about going to the game,And at six Minogue phoned .Did I want a lift.And then Aoife phoned "Was I going..Padraig ,Finns Son wanted a lift.
Game on so.
I drove myself.Had to wait for Padraig to put on the gear.Dunderry jersey knicks and socks.The sixth generation  of our breed  to wear the colours .Proudly.
Small enough crowd I thought in a resplendent Summerhill for the game.Fiver in .Enough.

The Legend,the Lev and Neddie fielded the following team.

                                          Jennings
A.Newman                        S.Harte                               Davy Mac Cormack

C.Dempsey                      Finn Stephens                        Conor O Shea

                   Liam Dempsey                       Conor Farrell
A Waters                        S,Coogan                                  Swiss Clarke

Lukie Martyn                    Paddy Kenneally                    Bob Doherty

I hadn#t seen Ballinabrackey play this year but had heard reports that they were a serious team ,a team on the move ,unlike  our poor gob shites who would be cannon fodder for the real  footballers.
I don't accept this agenda.As a club we have and are working  through the tyranny of players and their acolytes who always knew more than the management and made it their life's work to overthrow them and put theitr own men into office to secure their own gametime at better players expense.
The Legend and his men are their own men,so far at any rate.Long may it continue.
The first half was an even steven up and down affair with text book refeering by Far and away the best referee operating in Meath football at the moment.Richie Morris.
Coogan opened the scoring with a flawless close in free.Brackrey responded with a free from play.Soon after Coogan repeated the dose.,followed by one from play.
Then Brackey reeled off three scores two from play and one from a free before Coogan grabbed back two from a free and a forty five .The half was completed by a fine Brackey point from play to leave it at 0-5 apiece at the break.
Jennings was having a master game.Newman and Spongee were cleaning up in the corners and covering well for Harte who ,while having his moments ,is maybe a half stone over the ideal .But his instincts are good,Conor a is adapting quicker to the step up from Div.5 minor football to intermediate than Lukie and was playing well and O Shea ,freed from Hurling duties was buzzing around with aggressive gusto.
Finn  was having his first half man of the match performance.He is flying again.Finally has found faith in his own ability and being encouraged in it by a perceptive management.,No longer a fall guy taking the hits for lesser and less courageous  luminaries.
Bomber plays on the edge and just has to get in the last word.He is good enough not to play this way.A matter of belief and self control.He should button it and get on with it.He is talented and gifted enough to go either way.Now is the time to put up or  shut up.
Dempsy at midfield is big,strong  courageous and a team player.Needs to learn that the field is not a debating chamber and you are judged at your play not your say.I know he is doing training above and beyond and with their build this will always be the   case.Is brimming with promise.
Waters was cute and is fit and has bought into the team plan.Not always anxious to tackle back.Coogan ghosts into positions when a reasistic expeectation of a good pass is on the cards and wins it inevitably/Got all our first half scores.
Lukie is tough and brave but is getting fierce hard to make the transition from Div,5 Minor Football to Intremediate.The ball just didn't fall for him in the first half.It was directed more towards Paddy Kenneally and he had to feed on the mickey drippings.No fault of his.Swiss involved himself at every opportunity and was always available,sending much ball to advantage to Paddy.
Paddy got plenty of good ball.was fouled twice for frees which Coogan converted,Opposition teams gave now cottoned to his style of play and no longer buy itto his quicksilver changes of pace while holding on to the ball.He was stymied several times/Will have to work out a more understanding style of passing interplay with his team mates.Bob was mining any well placed pass that went his way and is hard to beat under a high ball but needs someone running art him to take the ball when hie gets possession.
Carroll at  midfield caused huge trouble for us when he got the ball.
I would have made possibly two changes after the half but on balance was happy enough with the draw/
I didn't expect Lukie to get line but he was taken at half time With Carty getting his place.When you think about It this is some statement.Carty is a current under under 21 county football team player.Lukie is not on the minor team .But there you go.Carty is like a will o the wisp ,he just appears ,shakes and motors on ball somehow controlled.And he did almost straight away ,conjuring up a shot on open  goal from nowhere and ...missing.Ballinabrackey didn;t stand and admire,they threw two  over the bar from play.
Finn manned the breach impressively and steadied the ship across the middle .No entrance.We responded.Coogan pulled one back from another impeccable free.Ballinabrac kept at it and score another minor from play.Then Catty and Swiss split the posts before the trusted boot of Coogan scored the final two from his trusted boot/
Paddy and Swiss departed through injury And Martin Garry.who made a most influential contribution graced the field.Lukie was reintroduced and gave it rebind diddy and Col Harte Stefan Clarke was thrown in r towards  the end.
This was a good game of football the result of which was in doubt right up top the end.Truth to tell we missed four scorable chances in the the last ten minutes and had we got them we would have been out of sight.
Finn was our best ,followed by spongy and Jennings ,who attaining the status of his namesake in another code of a different era,and Swiss with the score rate of Coogan making the pick of the forwards a foregone conclusion.
I would have liked to see Marty Garry on for longer.
We won 0-10 to 0-8
BUt to the Legend,the Lev and Ned and lifestyle coach the Crowes nest ,fair dues.
WE did suffer one defeat on Saturday however.One of our more vociferous supporters was routed by an w even more vociferous female supporter  from the opposition who out screeched and totally intimidated her into unconditional submission /Well you cant win them all.



          





Our blaithin was

Why this country is disintegrating before our eyes

Until the mid 1980,s Government Departments were run on the basis of the applicable law and without fear or favour.It mattered not a whit who you were or what prominent position you occupied in Society.Your actions ,proposals ,whatever were judged strictly on their merits and in light of the applicable law.
This approach served the State well since its foundation.
In the time frame I am talking about there emerged from all over the Public Service a breed of person who actively advocated a commercial  business approach to Government function.
When all the rhetoric was stripped away this meant that you took shortcuts and approached problems in a business like fashion.Distilling this further this meant that you aped business.
These guys were so naive that they didn't realise that businesses cheat to preserve the business.And so I argue Government departments started to cheat to preserve their powers and in administering thee functions.And anyone who stood up to this injustice was caste aside and those in power promoted their apostles.
And the administration of the State went haywire.
Thees advocates were snapped up by outside business interests to increase their bottom line,profit ,no more no less.
This approach dovetailed with the emergence of  a  breed of politician whose sole reason d'etre was greed and was admired for it.Even to day we have those commentators who would gladly hand over any given Government function to an astute business man on the basis outlined above.
Every investigation properly undertaken from the mid 1980 to date has exposed gross impropriety on behalf of those in power in Public service and it all stems from what I have outlined above.
The unfortunate thing is that this laisser faire attitude to the exercise of responsibility is so embedded in our Public Service that it would take major surgery to remove it.
As a general aside,you will find that the fairest people in the public service are not at the top of the food chain and it is them and them only that enables Government Departments to function at all.
Any Civil Servant who lived through the times I am talking about will remember the type of person I am talking about and maybe now realise the incalculable damage they foisted on this country and the tax payer.

Eurovision 2015 ,Dunderry entry.

The event formerly known as the Eurovision song contest ,but now better known as a freak contest ,will receive a huge Irish fillip next year when the world gets to see first  hand the Dunderry entry,which is now being induced into performing mood.
Let me explain.I know that the whole secret of success in this competition lies in getting inside the heads of those who judge these things and appealing to the lowest common denominator of that mindset.
It is clear that the lyrics and melody of any song is a waste of space unless there is a freak element to the presentation.This should not surprise us Irish in the least as we were the first half nation to sent a non human act to represent us there  ,a puppet turkey who spoke wit a Dublin accent and whose best pal was a bit of two by two wooden plank.
This was followed by a pair of twits whose expertise consisted of head stands and other acts of physical contortion which were deemed "gas " by pre teen Irish ludramans.
The latest winner is a being whose gender is uncertain and which sings in a frock while sporting a full beard.Is it human,is it alien is it it.?It also comes with an inbuilt anti Russian hiss factor which is activated when the Russian contribution gets merited marks.
In short it is the product and zenith of Western European secular evolution and the sting of a dying wasp.It is the product of an entertainment act which regards all art as essentially the sole prerogative of the queers and the gays and of a movement that for stops just short of making homosexuality and lesbianism mandatory for everybody and which revels in poking fun at people who regard themselves as heterosexuals.
It is the raison detre of the Pussy Rioters and is revenge for the very tolerant and reasonable treatment of their blasphemy by reasonable Russia.It is the epitome of bunkered cowardice which reasons the lack of boots on the ground and the use of drones is the domain of the brave and which selectively supports army coups d'etats when it suits their purposes.
Any how I toured Dunderry Fair today to see if I could identify any thing which could be interbred to ensure sure fire success at the 2015 Erosion.And I am sure I cracked it.
I will immediately start to interbreed an ugly turkey today with with a black danish sheep breed and cross it with a home bred duck which has a baritone quack.
The result will be a short legged,big chested ,thin necked,black,hornless ,two eyed ,yellow billed ,red combed,half duck ,half sheep ,whose posterior would put the Kashardin sisters to shame such is the size of its feather circled arse which has three holes of uncertain destination .
And it can gobble,quack and baa to tune.
Should be a shoo in.( or whatever you are having yourself )
And it can be trained to boo whatever country you are having yourself.

Muskateer Update.

Liam's mother died and is well buried.Deirdre has been battling hard against illness but returned this week to the Friday prayer group.She is much better.Leo and Carmel are dizzy with hope for a fine day on Sunday for the Fair.I am fairly bet myself.I twisted my bad knee and even hobbling is a major pain in the ass.On top of this i have a hateful cold that has gone to my chest.I still need prayer for a close family member.
God is good.We hope,

Bullshit aside.

You should not be fooled by all this talk of economic recovery and suchlike.
Just this week another talented tradesman and Dunderrry footballer emigrated to England for work.There is no work here for him.
Another dear friend who lives locally hadn't called in for a month.We were worried and checked.Put simply she was afraid to leave the house empty in case it was robbed.The only time that both she and her husband were at home at the same time was at night time .As he was away working long hours she was afraid to move out and leave the house empty in daylight hours in case it was robbed.
They are a relatively young couple.
Another family I know who have already been the victims of burglary have had to install electronic gates at enormous expense and even at that are afraid to leave the house empty.
And yet another couple have had to build a fortress like shed with steel shutters to house their diesel tank to stop the theft of diesel.
This is what the Government has done for rural Ireland.
There is a huge fall in support for politicians of all the main parties in rural Ireland.
Labour will be destroyed.Fine Gael will be boycotted by a significant number of its core vote such is the disappointment of its adherents with its governance.Rather than vote for any other party many will just not vote at all.,
Fianna Fail is so ashamed of its recent past that it is hard to see the Fianna fail logo on its posters,but those who switched to Fine Gael the last time out will return to F.F.on the basis that they are no worse than the Government parties.
Floating voters will vote independent but thinking Catholics will not turn to Sinn Fein in the numbers predicted because of its pro abortion  stance.
Ronan Mullin will I believe get a better vote than currently predicted as pro life people have no obvious Party to flock to.
I am giving it a miss this time out but am hoping for enough good fortune to run in the next General Election.
Even more a cynic than I was it seems to me that back bench T.D.s are reduced to burrowing into positions at funerals adjacent to the bereaved so as to present themselves for handshakes immediately after the bereaved.They are also useful for using their influence in  skipping the queue of mourners by having a quiet but influentisal word with the undertakers.

And so it goes.

Tonight our third football team turned up at the pitch for a League  Div.7 match against Rathoath.There was no match ,our Chairman having been notified at 6.00 p.m. this evening that the visitors  couldn't field.
Even though it was a hateful evening weather wise our boys were disappointed.
Hard to blame them ,they are making a huge effort and need all the football they can get.
In my noggin there stirred a memory from a decade or so  ago when there was controversy in Meath GAA circles over the attempted transfer here of a juvenile from a different Parish.
At the time a Ratoath Gael wrote to the papers wishing our Club bad luck over our stance on the issue.
It hurt me at the time.
We are still standing.What goes around comes around.

Dunderry v Drumc./Meathill u 14 Div 4 Final 03/05/2014

Last Saturday was a busy day around Dunderry.First of all the village was packed in the morning with the attendees at the Church for First Holy Communion for the pupils of Dunderry School.Great occasion all round I heard.I think that  there were 15 Communicants, the girls vastly outnumbering the boys.Phil's daughter had the choir in great voice and Finn's woman tickled the ivory with erudition and an impressive induction to the Body of Christ was experienced by the participating children on their big day out.
Take a bow the teachers of Dunderry and the parents involved.
And I am sure all had a day to remember.
I had a clash of fixtures at 1.00 p.m.
My granddaughter Kate Kelly (Claire's daughter ) was a year old and a party was kicking off at 1.00,the same time as the game.
I am a brave man but not brave enough to miss a party of this kind.Henpecked,chicken pecked and egg pecked you could say.
Party it was so.
I have a particular reason to be interested in the under 14 football team.It stems for profound concern at the inexorable slide of our juvenile footballer down the Divisions this last decade and the need for urgent redeemable action to reverse it.
A decade ago we were Div.1/2 minor football .This year we are Div.5.At under 16 level we are Div.5 also and so it goes.
I was appalled last year at the lax attitude towards sliding standards and the galling lack of respect amongst certain mid teens towards  the Club and had courted unpopularity by repeatedly saying so.
There is no genetic  reason why standards should have slipped so drastically  and efforts and personnel are now   in place to arrest the decline.
A win in this Final would go a long way to starting the climb back to respectability and ensure that we don't take our eyes off the sporting ball again ,as it were.
I had a reporter there to fill me in.
Firstly the pedigree of the team management are impeccable.Sean Kelly has more coaching qualifications than would sink a battleship.He also happens to be a Meath selector.John Brady ,like Sean played at all levels for Meath and is a fanatic Club man.Eoin O Leary,from the Lambay corner of the Parish is a fanatic Gael and is married to one also as are the others.
And they all have skin in the game.
All the players are with the team since they were 8 years old,all are from solid GAA families and barring there are profound sporting genetic deficiencies in some of them and given the pedigree of the management the sky ought be the limit.
And thanks be to God it was.
They won a hard sporting and fiercely contested   match by 5-10 to 4-10.The result was in doubt right up to the final whistle.

Warriors were.
                                            James Smyth

Jack Feeney                                                                      Ronan Brady

Diarmuid O Corrain          Donagh O laoire                  Michael Garry

                        Cian Eglington              Shane Heffernan
Conor Leavy                     Dermot Kelly                       Cormack Brady
                   
                         Alex Smyth                 Adam Kelly

Subs used.Paul Maxwell and Luke Hill.
I am told it was more an overall team effort than a display by just a few talented individuals and this is as it should be.
In the opinion of one man ,and remember everyone has a personal opinion,Ronan Brady,Donagh  O Laoire,Shane Heffernan,Dermot Kelly,Adam Kelly and Diarmuid O Corrain made the more significant contributions ,just about,towards the lifting of the laurel,but in reality it was a super all round team effort.
I pray that this is the start of the fightback towards football respectability at this level .It is certainly a start.
Let us face it,the management team would not be out of place at senior Inter County evel and if the players didn't take encouragement from such a set up it's all a matter.
The good ship Dunderry Juvenile football has successfully cleared the harbour mouth but is now sailing into more testing waters.
We will be keeping an eye on its progress.

Rude flower

Neath yonder bower there sits a flower,
That flower has won my heart,
And from that flower there came a shower ,
And after it a .... .

Dunderry V Donaghmore Ashbourne .Under 14 Camogie.April 2014

Last week on a grand Summer's evening I found time to see our under 14 Camogie team in action in Dunderry.
As a very proud President of the Club I like to get to as many matches as possible.Truth is that there is so much going on on the sporting fields of Dunderry between football,hurling and camogie that it is impossible entirely to keep up with everything.
Anyhow Donaghmore are ancient rivals and are always good.We have had many's a battle over the years.
When I parked on the upper pitch to watch the match my heart lifted when I saw that Suzanne Kelly (Finnegan ),Caroline Duffy and Donie Mooney were the mentors.The women at least know their onions ,both having yielded the Caman with distinction in the recent past.And Donie is a good motivator.
All three had skin in the game,with Donie and Suzanne having a daughter each on the field and Caroline having two.
And beside them were Lettie Rowan and Tereas Rattigan.Two queens of the game.Between these women are more medals than would sink a battleship,.And loads of cop as well.
Team.

                                             Rachel Duffy

Katie Duffy                      Hannah Morgan                          Helena Garry

Lauren Finnegan             Deirdre Mic Hale                          Emily Lynch

                        Orla Daly                     Kate Buchanan

Niamh Keaveney            Ellie Keenan                              Kaylinn Mooney

Grace Stenson                  Laura Casserley                        Katie Callaghan,

This team has been together for six years.They train hard.There is fierce unity in the camp.They are well trained.They excel at blocking,hooking and are unselfish ,passing the ball to each other to advantage.They come from good GAA families and are proud to play with Dunderry.They have oodles of skill and are fearless.
They play a nice brand of hurling and are well able to take their scores.
They outplayed Donaghmore decisively and ran out relatively winners on a scoreline of 7-2 to 2-1 as far as I could see.
The win was achieved with solid teamwork from 1 to 15 and all were stars,
A nice team to watch and a job well done.
These girls are on a roll,having beaten Trim and Drumree before this latest victory.
I look forward to the next match.

Styler Mac Donagh .A legend.

Monday evening I was passing by the pitch in Dunderry when I saw the  unmistakable image of the Styler going in the gate with his gear under his oxter.It was an overcast evening and I did my task quam cellerime and returned to the pitch to see what match he was referring.
And boy was I glad I did. Dunderry were playing Drumree in an under 12 hurling semi final.
I was totally entranced.The level of skill on display from both teams was incredible .An absolutely enthralling match played out in a hateful drizzle which didn't effect the standard of play at all.
Believe you me we have at least three Christy Rings in the making on this team.Incredible skills and bravery.
Pat Mulligan ,a former Chairman must be bursting with Heavenly  pride at his great grand children and the Lambay corner continues to amaze.
We won.Roll on the final.
And overseeing the whole thing was the Styler.When I was Secretary of the Juveniles he was our ref of choice.Never let us down.And that is a long time ago.And he is still a knight of the whistle.Still refereeing under 12 matches.And doing it well.
More than most he knows that you must be scurrilously fair with children.They will see through you like a light.
Styler is fair.Men like him ,who week in week out referee unglamorous games at the youngest age groups perform an invaluable and vital service for our Association.
We take this for granted .. We shouldn't.
I guess that the Styler is referring for 40 years or more and he is still going strong.
He should be rewarded by the Meath GAA for services rendered.
I hope somebody there reads this article and sets the wheels in motion.

Dunderry V Drumbarragh Div.4 F.C.20/04/2014

Easter Sunday was a grand day.My car failed the test in Kells that morning and I mosied to Martry on the way home  to see our third football team take on Drumbarragh at noon.The people of Bohermeen are great Gaels and the pitch was immaculate.
Dunderry Team.
                                                     Brendan Farrell

Russell Kellaghan                        Davy Stephens                       Stephen O Donnell

Kenny Patterson                        Eric Murray                            Owen Fagan

                                Eddie Maguire             Joey Farrell
Damian Bruton                         Shane  Mooney                        Conor Daly   

Darragh Scannell                    Christopher Harrington              Bugle

In a way the GAA is like the Catholic Church in that while you might stray away for a while you will eventually return to your true home.I had the pleasure to mentor as children and young men the two Farrells,Russell,Ownie, Bruts and Harrow .Even Bugle had tried to pass himself as a Camogie player at 16 years of age when I found him hiding amongst the other girls at the  back of a bus when we were leaving Dunderry for an away game many moons ago. When rumbled he got off no problem.I have since figured that he was smuggled aboard by a certain player,who shall be nameless, he was trying to get off with .He has definitely proved since that he had no desire to be a closet female Camogie player .
Anyhow the aforementioned players,Bruts and Harrow excepted have tried their feet at the garrison game and it was great to see them back in the bosom of the Gaels.
I had skin in the game with Sprog at full back and Eddie at centre field.
Eddie and Bugle are similar physically and are the senior members of the team .Rumour has it that they the only place they will see 40 again is on a door.
Seriously they are great credit to themselves and are a bit like good wine ,improving with age.And a shining example to other players of the benefit of regular training.And abstemious habits.
We were playing their second team and were hoping to acquit ourselves well and not make a show of ourselves.And we are training as a team and under serious management and here for the long haul.
From the start we were under severe pressure.
Most of us don't do coward but it was clear that Sprog was a tad rusty,Russell and Ownie although brave needed more football,Eric definitely was off the pace,Darragh ,who has great potential ,needs an amount of football to get his eye in and Bugle hadn't yet brushed off the cobwebs.Farrell senior and Junior .Patterson ,Bruton ,Daly , Mooney and  Harrow kept us ticking over while the excellent Maguire aided well by Joey put their fingers in the dyke to avoid an early whitewash.
But we settled somewhat after a while as Sprog ,Bugle and Bruts got more into their stride.My father used say in a different context that you can,t win.And I thought of this when Bruton was blown for a textbook perfect shoulder charge to the utter amazement of all the attendance and of myself in particular who had a bird's view of it as had the ref.
I am beginning to wonder whether there is a conspiracy to take the physicality out of football entirely and re brand it as a kind of basketball with foot passes allowed.
This sort of nonsense does have an adverse effect on the player wrongly penalised and is just not good enough.Will the player shoulder charge again  and such bad decisions do no service to the game and its promotion.In fairness to the ref,he improved as the game progressed.
Any how ,by half time they led by 0-7 to 0-2,ours coming from Harrow from play and Bugle from a free.To be fair the score reflected their superiority.
We made a much better fist of it in the second half with Bomber in goals having a blinder,Sprog attacking to advantage ,Eddie playing like a man half his age,Joey winning impossible ball,Bruts ,Daly ,Scanno and a web free Bugle taking the game to the opposition.
We gave it diddy ,Bugle tacking on 4 points,Scanno 2 points and Bruts a single point.
Daly sprayed the ball around to advantage while all the backs did their damnest to stem the Dumbarragh flow and contained it to 1-4..
I would love to see Daly giving it a serious lash in training to see where it would lead.
Mooney had his moments too.
Mitchell,Casey,Cooke,Dowdall and Brennan made somewhat brief appearance's in the second half and made wholehearted and valuable contributions.
Were I in charge of the Intermediate team I would be inviting both Farrells,Sprog and Bruts to join the panel.
Eddie and Bugle too were father time on their side.
This team has a good spirit
I will watch them again.
            

Double murder in Dunderry

Miss Hogett's pregnancy came to a sad end last week in one of the most sylvan settings in Meath.Church town to be exact.
Since being tipped by the horny ram a number of months ago she indulged in only the very best of grass ,tender shoots of hay and nuts to die for.
At 5.00 a.m.last Wednesday morning the labour pains started and she firstly delivered a hell of a fine lamb.She licked it clean but before she could organise a feed from her bursting elder for her first born the labour pains started again and she had to stand and deliver all over again.And after a half hour a twin no bigger than a man's fist was born.
As she licked the covering from her second born she remembered her first born and cast her eyes anxiously about for him.He has stumbled about twenty yards away from her and she could see in the dawn sunshine that a toxic combination of three magpies .two grey crows and a single half black /half grey crow were attacking the defenceless mite and she rushed to his defence.In the process leaving her second born defenceless.Whereupon the murderous amalgam turned their attentions back to the first born.And she rushed back again and again and again.
Eventually she ran out of breath by the side of "the fist "and stood  exhausted at his side.
In her brain stirred the memory of the arrival of the hated magpie in Ireland .The ba ba bastards were blown here for the first time by a tempest shortly after Cromwell murdered and lay waste the owners of the three green fields.They picked eyeballs till they busted .She trembled at the memory.And the grey crows ,rejected mutants of their own flocks ,soon allied forces with them in their taste for soft targets.
And true to form they picked first the eyes from her first born,followed by the flesh around his anus and then they burrowed into the remains of his umbilical cord and followed it into his belly.Lucky for him he died from shock as his second eye was plucked from the socket and his pain ended then.
Just as they finished THE MAN attired and drove them away.Too late.
The fist could not reach its ma's teats it was so small so the Man stuck 60 mills of colostrum into its stomach and boy did he enjoy it.For two days he was flying around and Miss Hogger minded him like her life depended on it.Certainly his life depended on her care.
On the third night he strayed from her side and made his way through the sheep wire fence around the field.He strayed into a steep hollow in the ground and could not get out  or back to  his ma despite his bleating and her agitated bellowing.
But a vixen did hear the commotion and mused around.
She couldn't believe her luck and with one shake of her powerful mouth she broke the neck of the fist and off with her to her own hungry brood.
I'm on the side of Miss Hogget and share her sorrow.
I despise Cromwell,Magpies,grey crows and foxes and their human counterparts.
Bad cess to them.