Three Plays.by

Patrick GalvinTHE LAST BURNING

NIGHTFALL TO BELFAST

WE DO IT FOR LOVE

Published by Threshold, Lyric Players Theatre,Ridgeway St., Belfast 9.

Designed and printed by the Elo Press Ltd.,Dublin 8, Ireland.

Cover design by Dive Wilson.

It is No. 27, Spring 1976 issue of Threshold.

© Copyright 1976 Patrick Galvin.

All rights whatsoever in these plays are strictly reserved,and application for performance, etc., should be madein writing to the Lyric Theatre, Ridgeway Street, Belfast;or to the author’s agent, Clive Goodwin Associates, 79Cromwell Road, London, SW7.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or byany means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of thepublishers.

I I—

WeDoitforLove

127

PA

RT

ON

E:

We

Do

ItF

orL

ovew

asfirst

presen

tedby

theL

yricT

heatre,B

elfast,on

May

14th,1975,

with

the

following

SO

LD

IER

SA

ND

CW

RT

AJ,T

Scast

Mo

sesD

ock

erL

ouis

RO

LS

TO

NI

ME

RR

Y-G

O-R

OU

ND

ON

E

Private

Evans

PE

mR

TE

MPL

AR

Street

scenein

Belfast.

Stage

rightand

stageleft

areS

ergean

tP

inW

ILK

iNSO

Nrailed

offshopping

areas.M

ost

ofthe

centreof

theG

orm

leyJ.

J.M

UR

PHY

stageis

takenup

with

am

ake-shiftM

erry-Go-R

oundR

ooney

BIL

LH

UN

TE

RT

hehorses

onthe

Merry-G

o-Round

don’tlook

likereal

horsesand

thefigures

onthe

horsesare

made

ofM

rsE

llisTR

UD

YK

ELLYcardboard.

The

facesare

the

facesof

thecast

inthe

Mrs

Ryan

SHEILA

MC

GIB

BO

Nplay.

The

faceschange

asthe

characters

move

onand

The

Underta

ker

MA

RK

MU

LH

OL

LA

ND

off.S

ergean

tB

lanch

eR

OY

HE

AY

BE

AR

D•

At

opening—

small

groupsof

peopleare

standingon

bothsides

ofthe

stage.S

oldiers,civilians,

children,C

on

table

Ham

mo

nd

MA

RK

MU

LH

OL

LA

ND

etc.M

usic.M

issF

airchild

MA

UR

EE

NT

HO

RN

TO

N

Mrs

Castle

LIN

DA

WR

AY

Chan

ts:B

illyC

astleJO

HN

HE

win

Belfast

—B

elfast—

Belfast

—B

elfast.O

’Brien

PAT

RIC

KB

RA

NN

IGA

NA

nny:

Priv

ateW

illiams

PAT

AB

ER

NE

TH

YI

do

n’t

wan

tto

goto

Belfast

Id

on

’tw

ant

togo

tow

arP

earsePA

TR

ICK

BR

AN

NIG

AN

I’dra

ther

han

garo

un

dP

icadilly

Un

derg

rou

nd

Man

inth

eS

treetJO

HN

HE

wIn

Liv

ing

onth

eearn

ings

of

ah

igh

-classlad

yM

acDonnell

PAU

LR

IDL

EY

Idon’t

wan

ta

rock

etin

me

belly

Preach

erO

ne

MA

UR

ICE

O’C

ALLA

GIL%

NI

do

n’t

wan

tm

eb

ollo

xsh

ot

away

I’dra

ther

stayin

Englan

dP

reacher

Tw

oPA

UL

RID

LE

YG

oo

do

ldb

leedin

gE

nglan

dL

oyalist

Priso

ner

JACK

MC

QU

0IDA

nd

bo

oze

and

shagm

eb

leedin

glife

away.

Barm

anJA

CK

MC

QU

0IDC

horus:B

elfast—

Belfast

—B

elfast—

Belfast.

Child

renSH

IRL

EY

AN

NA

NN

En

All:

TO

NI

MC

GA

HA

NH

you

hate

the

bleed

ing

Tro

ubles

DER

MO

DH

AR

IAN

DC

lapyour

han

ds

(Clap

Clap

)A

ND

RE

WK

ENN

EDY

Hyou

hate

the

bleed

ing

Tro

ubles

AN

GELA

MA

XW

EL

LC

lapyour

han

ds

(Clap

Clap

)K

ATH

LEENM

OO

NEY

Ifyou

hate

the

bleed

ing

Tro

ubles

RA

CH

ELTH

OM

AS

Ifyou

hate

the

bleed

ing

Tro

ubles

Ifyou

hate

the

bleed

ing

Tro

ubles

The

playw

asd

irectedb

yM

AR

YM

CC

RA

cEN

Clap

you

rhan

ds

(Clap

Clap

)G

roupT

wo:

Desig

ned

by

CL

IVE

WIL

SO

NIf

youhate

the

IRA

The

action

ofth

eplay

takes

place

inB

elfastand

theT

hen

clapyour

han

ds

(Cap

Cap)

play

isd

edicated

toth

at

cityand

itspeo

ple.

Hyou

hate

the

IRA

128

Then

clapyour

hands(C

lapC

lap)If

youhate

theIR

AII

youhate

theIR

AIf

youhate

theIR

AT

henclap

yourhands

(Clap

Clap)

Group

One:

Ifyou

hatethe

British

Arm

yC

lapyour

hands(C

lapC

lap)If

youhate

theB

ritishA

rmy

Clap

yourhands

(Clap

Clap)

Ifyou

hatethe

British

Arm

yIf

youhate

theB

ritishA

rmy

Ifyou

hatethe

British

Arm

yC

lapyour

hands(C

lapC

lap)A

rmy:If

youhate

thebleeding

IrishC

lapyour

hands(C

lapC

lap)If

youhate

thebleeding

IrishC

lapyour

hands(C

lapC

lap)T

houghw

ehate

thesodden

Germ

anA

ndw

ehate

theF

roggieF

renchman

They’ve

gotnothing

onthe

IrishC

lapyour

hands(C

lapC

lap)C

horus:B

elfast—

Belfast

What’s

itgoing

tobe?

Hanging

froma

lamp

postS

winging

froma

tree?B

elfast—

Belfast

Falling

tothe

groundT

o-morrow

we’ll

besinging

But

you’llnever

hearthe

soundN

ev

er..,

hear..

.th

e...

sound.

Child:H

op-scotch—

Hop-scotch

—H

op-scotch.M

eD

addyw

entto

Belfast

Me

Mam

my

said“O

hno!

For

ifyou

goto

Belfast

We’ll

not

seeyou

nom

ore”.B

utD

addyw

entto

Belfast

And

Mam

my

gota

note.W

edon’t

knowif

they’veto

rtured

himO

rm

erelycu

this

thro

at.C

horus:B

elfast—

Belfast

What’s

itgoing

tobe?

Hanging

froma

lamp

postS

winging

froma

tree?C

hild:When

theyfound

me

Daddy

He

was

lyingin

aditch

He

didn’thave

histrousers

onH

edidn’t

wear

astitch.

Inever

sawm

eD

addynaked

inm

elife

—

I’dnever

make

asoldier

An

dI’d

neverm

akea

wife.

Chorus:

Belfast

—B

elfastW

hat’sit

goingto

be.

Child:H

op-scotch—

Hop-scotch

One,

two,

three.C

horus:B

elfast—

Belfast

Falling

tothe

groundT

o-morrow

we’ll

besinging

But

you’llnever

hearthe

sound.C

hild:The

funeralw

aslovely

Me

Mam

my

was

intears.

We

couldn’tget

thecoffin

down

The

verynarrow

stairs.W

epushed

itthrough

thew

indowA

ndit

landedin

thestreet

And

thesoldiers

andthe

bullyboys

Went

“Bleet,

bleet,bleet”.

Chorus:

Belfast

—B

elfastF

allingto

theground

To-m

orroww

e’llbe

singingB

utyou’ll

neverh

earthe

soundN

ever..,

hear..

-th

e.-

-so

und...

ME

RR

Y-G

O-R

OU

ND

TW

O

Moses

Docker

appears.M

ost

ofthe

peoplehave

gone.T

hechild

remains

staringat

theM

erry-Go-R

ound.A

soldier,P

rivateE

vans,stan

ds

onguard

nearthe

rail

ings.A

number

ofoth

erpeople

arestanding

arou

nd

chatting.

131130

—.4

Moses:

All

right

then—

move

along—

anddon’t

stareat

theB

ritishA

rmy.

He’s

onlydoing

hisduty.

(To

soldier)Isn’t

that

soC

harlie?D

oingyour

duty?(A

dirty

looktrain

thesoldier)

That’s

right,C

harlie,S

mile

atthe

people.L

etthem

seehow

friendlyyou

are.(T

opeople)

Rubber

bulletsin

that

gun.N

ot

realones.

Charlie

herem

aybreak

yourleg,

but

hew

on’tkill

you.(H

esings)

Rubb

erbullets

forthe

ladiesC

atchthem

ina

CS

canT

hreeinches

wide,

sixinches

long,T

akethem

home

toyour

oldm

an.It’s

anin

strum

ent

ofto

rture

To

breakyour

legsin

two

It’llstop

youfeeling

lonelyB

utleave

youblack

andblue.

Moses:

All

right,C

harlie?(N

oresponse)

That’s

thetrouble

with

thearm

y.Y

outry

tobe

friendlyand

theyw

on’trespond.

Never

mind.

We’re

allgoing

tobe

friendlyto-night.

It’sa

loveshow

.Isn’t

that

right,C

harlie?(T

othe

people)H

e’snot

listening.M

ovealong

—otherw

isehe’ll

confiscatethe

Merry-G

oR

oundand

that’llbe

me

outof

business(T

oC

hild)Y

outoo,

Sw

eetheart.C

hild:C

anI

playon

theM

erry-Go-R

ound?M

oses:L

ater—

when

theB

ritshave

gone.C

hild:Is

hea

realsoldier?

Moses:

Yes,

darling.A

truem

ember

ofH

erM

ajesty’sF

orces.S

entover

hereto

pro

tectus.

Child:

Has

liebeen

shot?M

oses:N

ot

yet.C

hild:M

yM

amm

ysays

ifhe

was

areal

soldierhe’d

beshot.

Moses:

You

hearthat,

Charlie?

You

haven’tbeen

bloodedyet.

Evans:

Creep!

Moses:

Charlie!

What

would

theQ

ueensay?

(To

Child)

You

runalong

home,

Sw

eetheart,before

that

nastysoldier

eatsyou

up.C

hild:(R

unningO

ff)B

ritsO

ut!B

Hts

Out!

Brits

Out!

(Exit

Child)

Moses:

Charlie

—I’m

ashamed

ofyou

—speaking

liketh

atin

front

ofa

child.E

vans:P

issO

ff!A

ndstop

callingm

eC

harlie.M

oses:W

hat

elsecan

Icall

you?D

ressedup

inth

atbutcher’s

robeyou

alllook

alike.F

aceless.

Evans:

The

name

isE

vans.P

rivateE

vans.M

oses:N

orelation

tothe

Evans?

(Evans

looksblank)

The

Evans

ofR

oscomm

on.T

herichest

family

inthe

land.E

vans:I’m

notIrish.

Moses:

You

couldhave

fooledm

e.—

Scottish?

Evans:

Welsh.

Iw

asborn

inC

ardiff.M

oses:N

ow

onderyou

came

toB

elfast,C

harlie.E

vans:A

reyou

tryingto

befunny?

Moses:

No

Charlie.

With

my

backgroundI

can’tafford

it.E

vans:M

oses.W

herethe

helldid

youget

anam

elike

that?M

oses:M

osesD

ocker.C

harlie.G

iveit

tom

ein

full,It’s

theonly

thingI’ve

got—

apartfrom

theM

erry-Go-

Round.

Evans:

And

eventhat’s

phoney.M

oses:M

aybe.B

utit

keepsm

ealive,

Charlie.

Every

dayI

watch

itgoing

roundand

round.T

hefaces

change,but

theact

remains

thesam

e.A

thousandpeople

coulddie

out

there,but

theM

erry-Go-R

oundgoes

on.Y

oukeep

youreye

onit,

Charlie.

The

mom

entyou

landedin

Belfast

youbecam

ep

artof

it.E

vans:I

don’tsee

yourface

upthere.

Moses:

I’ma

non-believer,C

harlie.I

just

keepit

going.E

vans:D

on’tyou

believein

anything?M

oses:Just

theM

erry-Go-R

ound.A

ndthe

kids.T

hey’rethe

onlyhope.

Evans:

No

tthe

onesly

eseen.

They’d

eatyou

alive.M

oses:Y

oudon’t

knowthem

,C

harlie.T

hey’refed

onhate.

Three

blastsa

dayfired

intothe

veins.E

vans:Y

oustill

haven’ttold

me

where

yougot

thenam

eM

oses.M

oses:H

aven’tI?

When

Iw

assix

weeks

oldm

ym

other—

God

blessher

maiden

heart—

dumped

me

atthe

docksidein

aw

ickerbasket.

An

oldlady

passingby

—stoned

out

ofher

mind

—fell

overm

e.“H

olyM

oses”she

cried(O

rw

ordsto

that

effect)“w

hathave

we

here?”.It

was

me

Charlie.

She

tookm

ehom

e,looked

afterm

e—

andfrom

that

dayto

thisI’ve

beenknow

nas

Moses

Docker.

Moses

becauseof

thew

ickerbask

etand

Docker

becauseshe

foundm

eat

thedocks.

That

wom

anw

asa

poet.E

vans:Y

ou’renot.

Moses:

And

wh

atab

ou

tyou?

What

areyou

doinghere

allthe

way

fromC

ardiff?

1’

132133

134135

soldier

Charlie.

Evans:

The

Queen

sent

me.

Moses:

Personally?

Evans:

Iw

ashaving

teaw

ithher

oneday.

Evans,

shesaid,

Ihear

theflipping

Irishare

onthe

war-path

again.I

want

youto

goover

thereand

sortthem

out.I’ll

goat

once,I

said.A

ndshe

said—

don’thurry

yourself.F

inishyour

crumpet.

SoI

finishedm

ycru

mpet

andI’m

here.F

airenough?

Moses:

Fair

enough,C

harlie.I

liketh

atb

itab

ou

tthe

crumpet.

It’sgot

class.E

vans:S

hoveoff.

Moses:

Charlie!

Evans:

And

stopcalling

me

Charlie.

(Sound

ofa

carapproaching)

Hop

it!(M

osesdisappears

behindthe

Merry-G

o-R

ound.E

vansdraw

shim

selfto

attentio

n.

The

Sergeant

enters.)S

ergeant:A

tease,

Evans.

At

ease.E

verythingin

order?E

vans:Y

es,S

arge.S

ergeant:W

atchyourself

aroundhere.

Keep

youreyes

peeled.Y

oudon’t

want

toget

yourhead

blown

off.E

vans:N

o,S

arge.S

ergeant:Y

oucan’t

trust

theseP

addies.L

oyalistor

Prod.

Catholic

orR

epublican—

when

itgets

down

tothe

nitty

-gritty

they’reall

alike.E

vans:Pity

they’renot

black,S

arge.S

ergeant:T

hat

doesth

atm

ean?E

vans:I

mean

ifthey

were

blackw

e’dknow

what

tolook

out

for.A

sit

isthey

looklike

us.S

ergeant:E

vans—

noIrishm

anever

lookedlike

anE

nglishman.

There’s

avacant

lookab

ou

tthem

.L

ookto

theeyes.

The

eyesare

thew

indows

ofthe

soul.A

ndan

Irishman’s

soulis

likea

glacier-mint.

You

cansee

rightthrough

it.W

henyou’ve

beenhere

aslong

asI

haveyou’ll

realisethat.

Evans:

Yes,

Sarge.

Sergeant:

IsM

osesaround?

Evans:

He’s

justleft.

Sergeant:

Keep

youreye

onhim

too.A

llright

when

he’ssober,

but

givehim

acouple

ofdrinks

andhe

thinkshe’s

thereal

Moses.

Leading

hiseople

outof

bondageand

allth

atcrap.

Evans:

Yes,

Sarge.

Sergeant:

Don’t

knoww

herethe

hellhe

thinkshe’s

leadingthem

to—

England

probably.T

hat’sw

herethey

allw

indup

sooneror

later.D

oyour

duty,E

vans.

No

more

andno

less.A

ndan

oth

erthing

—bew

areof

oldladies

bearinggifts.

Bars

ofchocolate

forthe

troops—

that

sortof

thing.E

vans:P

oisoned?S

ergeant:M

orethan

likely.G

ood-night.E

vans.E

vans:‘N

ight,S

arge.(T

heS

ergeantleaves.

Evans

stamps

hisfeet

toget

warm

.M

usic.E

vanssings.)

Evans:

I’vefought

my

way

throughstreets

inB

allymurphy

Sw

eatedout

theriots

inA

rdoyneT

houghI

realiseda

bu

lletM

ightget

me

inthe

gulletA

ndan

oth

erone

might

laceratem

ygroin.

I’vesearched

form

inesalong

theIrish

bo

rder

Looked

forhidden

arms

andgelignite

Though

aware

abooby-trap

Might

suddenlygo

snapA

ndscatter

my

remains

intothe

night.

I’vesm

ashedthe

no-gobarricades

inU

lsterflu

shed

out

many

Provos

inthe

Falls

And

with

equaldaring

sloggingI’ve

foughtup

inthe

Boggan

And

fearlesslyI’ve

guardedD

erry’sW

alls.

I’veoften

faceda

bomb

ofdeadly

menace

And

defusedit

with

intrepidB

ritishskill

And

I’msure

my

daringaction

Has

helpedto

saveeach

factionI’ve

nevertried

tom

aimor

triedto

kill.

Sothe

nexttim

eth

atyou

meet

aB

ritishR

emem

berall

them

anythings

Ido

I’mnot

herefor

them

oneyA

ndU

lsterisn’t

funny—

Iw

ishto

Ch

ristthey’d

sendm

eback

toC

rewel

(Before

thesong

hasended

—M

osesappears

frombehind

theM

erry-Go-R

ound.H

estan

ds

there

listening.)M

oses:C

harlie.E

vans:Y

oustill

here?M

oses:I

stickw

iththe

Merry-G

o-Round,

Round

andround

we

go.

L

Evans:

You

cansay

that

again.M

oses:W

hydon’t

yougo

home?

Evans:

Because

I’ma

soldier—

that’sw

hy.M

oses:A

ndyou

loveyour

country.E

vans:Y

es.M

oses:C

harlie—

Ifeel

sorryfor

you.O

neof

thesedays

you’llbe

standingthere

andyou’ll

geta

bu

lletin

yourspine.

And

youknow

something?

The

man

who

putsit

therew

illbe

doingit

forthe

same

reasonyou’re

standingthere

—love

ofcountry.

Go

home.

Evans:

Are

youasking

me

todesert?

Moses:

You

coulddo

worse,

Charlie.

You’re

helpingno

onehere.

Evans:

Belt

up.M

oses:Y

ou’renot

listening,C

harlie.E

vans:I’m

listening.B

utif

thearm

yleft

heretom

orrowyou’d

bedead.

Moses:

We’re

killingeach

oth

eranyw

ay,C

harlie.Y

oudon’t

remem

ber‘69.

There

was

hopethen.

Civil

Rights.

One

man

—one

vote.W

eactually

believedit.

Evans:

But

not

anymore?

Moses:

The

innocencehas

gone,C

harlie.B

utin

thosedays

itw

asgood

tobe

alive.W

estood

inthe

rain.W

em

archedand

we

sang.Y

oushould

havebeen

there,C

harlie.Y

oushould

haveheard

thevoices.

(Voices

offcan

beheard

singing“W

eshall

notbe

moved”.

The

Mern

j.Go

-Ro

un

dbegins

tom

overound

andround.

Moses

joinsin

thesinging.)

Moses:

We

shallnot,

we

shallnot

bem

ovedW

eshall

not,w

eshall

not

bem

ovedJust

likea

treethat’s

standingby

thew

atersideW

eshall

notbe

moved.

One

man

—one

voteW

eshall

notbe

moved

An

endto

Special

Pow

ersW

eshall

notbe

moved

Just

likea

treethat’s

standingby

thew

ersid

eW

eshall

notbe

moved,

Our

causew

illbe

trium

ph

ant

We

shallnot

bem

ovedW

e’reon

ourw

ayto

victory

We

shallnot

bem

ovedJu

stlike

atree

that’sstanding

bythe

waterside

We

shallnot

bem

oved(T

hereis

aburst

ofm

achine-gunfire.

The

Merry

.Go

-Ro

un

dcom

esto

ahalt.)

Moses:

Oh,

Ch

arlie

...

ME

RR

Y’G

O-R

oUN

DT

HR

EE

The

lightfades

—and

riseson

Tw

oG

unmen.

They

stand

(Stage

leftan

dstage

right)facing

theaudience.

Am

oment

—an

dth

elight

riseson

two

figures—

Patrick

Pearse

andT

heM

anin

theS

treet.P

earsestan

ds

asif

lookingover

agrave.

The

Man

inthe

Street

appearson

aplatform

andappears

tobe

addressinga

crowd.

Inhis

hand,a

Sterling

Sub-M

achineG

un.

Pearse:

My

name

isP

adraigP

earse.I

loveIreland.

(gave

my

lifefor

it.T

hey

sayth

atthis

bloodshedbegan

with

me.

Itis

not

so.T

hisw

arbegan

when

thefirst

English

soldierset

footon

Irishsoil.

Itw

illgo

onuntil

thelast

soldierhas

departedfrom

theseshores.

Man

inthe

Street:

Iam

them

anin

thestreet.

Ilive

here.I

work

here.I

ama

Pro

testant

Worker.

(He

raisesthe

gun)I

want

youto

lookat

this.It

isa

Sterling

Sub-m

achinegun.

Study

it.W

henloaded

itw

eighseight

pounds.It

fires550

roundsper

minute

andit

isaccurate

upto

150yards.

Why

doI

havesuch

agun?

Iw

illtell

you.T

heIrish

Republican

Arm

yw

antsa

Un

itedIreland.

They

want

Poper3ihere.

They

will

notget

it.P

earse:T

hisis

aplace

ofpeace.

Itis

holyground.

Here,

am

anshould

speakw

ithall

charityand

with

allrestrain

t.B

utI

holdit

aC

hristianthing

tohate

evil,to

hateuntru

th,

tohate

oppression,and

hatingthem

,to

striveto

overthrowthem

.M

anin

theS

treet:W

hoare

thesepeople?

Who

dothey

thinkw

eare?

The

so-calledpeace-m

akerssay

that

ifI

usethis

gunI

amno

better

thanthe

IRA

.I

will

useit.

Make

nom

istakeabout

that.I

will

useit

todefend

my

home

andm

yfam

ily.W

herew

erethe

peace-makers

when

my

peoplew

erebeing

shotat,

bu

rned

out

andbom

bed?A

mI

tostand

bynow

and136

137

seem

ycity

destroyed?T

heIrish

Republican

Arm

yare

notin

terestedin

peace.P

earse:O

urfoes

arestrong

andw

iseand

wary.

But

strongand

wise

andw

aryas

theyare

theycannot

undothe

miracles

ofG

odw

horipens

inthe

heartsof

youngm

enand

wom

enthe

seedssow

nby

them

enand

wom

enof

aform

ergeneration.

Rulers

anddefenders

ofR

ealms

hadneed

tobe

wary

ifthey

would

guardagainst

suchprocesses.

(Durin

gth

eabove,

The

Child

appears

and

stands

listenin

gto

the

speakers.M

oses

app

earsan

dstan

ds

watch

ing

thechild.)

Man

inthe

Street:

Itis

clearw

hatthey

want

—a

United

Irelandor

nothing.W

ell,w

hatis

nothing?It

isC

ivilW

arw

ithout

qu

artergiven

orexpected.

Ithas

tobe

that

way.

Any

oth

erw

aym

eansth

atm

ychildren

will

haveto

gothrough

thesam

ehell

we

aregoing

through.A

ndth

atis

not

on.T

heV

amp

irismof

Pearse

hasto

bedestroyed

nowand

thisgun

will

doit.

Take

it.H

oldit

inyour

hand.It’s

yourright

andyour

salvation.P

earse:L

ifesprings

fromdeath;

andfrom

thegraves

ofpatrio

tm

enand

wom

enspring

livingnations.

The

Defenders

ofthis

Realm

havew

orkedw

ellin

secretand

inthe

open.T

heyth

ink

theyhave

pacifiedIre

land.T

heythink

theyhave

purchasedhalf

ofus

andintim

idatedthe

oth

erhalf.

But

thefools,

thefools,

thefools!

—they

haveleft

usour

Fenian

dead.A

ndw

hileIreland

holdsthese

graves—

Irelandunfree

shallnever

beat

peace.M

anin

theS

treet:(R

aisingthe

gun)So

beit

I(T

helight

fadeson

theS

peakers.T

hechild

looksat

Moses.)

Child:

Can

Iplay

onthe

Merry-C

o-Round?

(Pause.

The

lightfades

toblackout.

Fade

outm

usicfrom

“Mise

Lire.”)

ME

RR

Y-G

O-R

OU

ND

FO

UR

The

lightrises

onT

heB

ombers.

Mr

Rooney

andM

rG

ormley

enter.G

orndeyis

carryinga

suitcase.In

thecentre

ofthe

stagethere

isa

coffin.

Rooney:

Isthis

theplace,

Mr

Gorm

ley?

Gorm

ley:It

is.T

heinstructions

were

quiteexplicit.

Rooney:

Itdoesn’t

seemright

somehow

—w

ithth

coffinand

all.G

ormley:

Don’t

bea

bigot,M

rR

ooney.S

ome

ofm

ybest

friendsare

incoffins.

Sit

down.

(Gorm

leysits

onthe

coffin,starts

toopen

thesuitcase.

Rooney

looksuneasij)

Sit

down.

(Rooney

doesso)

Now

,then,

areyou

happy?R

ooney:L

et’sget

onw

ithit.

Gorm

ley:T

akeit

easy,M

rR

ooney.B

omb-m

akingis

anart.

Agenuine

art.R

ooney:D

on’tI

knowit.

Gorm

ley:H

avew

eeverything

inorder?

Rooney:

Ithink

so.G

ormley:

(Checking

them

aterialsfrom

thesuitcase)

Detonators,

safetyfuse,

gelly,alarm

clock,electrical

switch,

weed

killer,nitro-benzene,

amm

oniumn

itrate.(P

ause)W

edon’t

needall

that.

Rooney:

It’sas

well

tohave

it,M

rGorm

ley.

Gorm

ley:(L

ookingat

thebook

ofin

structio

ns)

Please

notethe

criticalpercentage

ofthe

chemicals.

(Looks

atR

ooneyJM

odifyclock

tow

orkhalf

anhour

beforesetting

offthe

device.G

elignitedoes

not

likeextrem

etem

peratures.It

canw

eepout

purenitro-glycerine.

Ifthis

happensthe

gelignitew

illblow

up.(P

ause)W

ell,th

atsounds

reasonable.R

ooney:It

does.G

ormley:

As

I’vesaid

before,M

rR

ooney—

it’san

art.P

eopledon’t

appreciateth

at.R

ooney:(starts

tom

akeup

thebonzb)

Ignorance,M

rG

ormley,

peopledon’t

appreciatenothing.

Gorm

ley:I

mean

—w

herew

ouldthis

country

bew

ithout

theart

ofthe

bomb-m

aker?R

ooney:N

owhere.

Sure

it’sus

what

getsall

thepub

licity.G

ormley:

Exactly.

The

world

atlarge

would

neverhave

heard

ofU

lsterif

itw

asn’tfor

us.A

ndstill

peopledon’t

appreciate.A

sa

matter

offact,

I’dsay

theyw

erehostile.

Rooney:

And

suspicious.Y

oucan’t

gointo

ashop

noww

itho

ut

beingsearched.

And

lookat

thepubs!

Intim

idatio

nat

thedoor.

Regular

customers

only.E

mpty

yourpockets.

Open

yourpurse.

Corm

ley:It’s

bad,M

rR

ooney.I

don’tlike

it.I

don’tlike

itat

all.R

ooney:It

putsm

eoff

me

drink.

138139

Gorm

ley:A

ndit

isn’tas

ifw

edo

itfor

them

oney.It

costsus

money.

Roaney:

We

haveto

payfor

them

aterials.G

orrnk’y:A

ndthe

phonecalls.

Everytim

ew

em

akea

warning

telephonecall

itcosts

ustw

opence.A

ddth

atup

overthe

years.R

ooney:H

undred

sof

pounds.G

ormley:

But

we

doit,

Mr

Rooney.

We

don’tgrudge

it.R

ooney:It’s

not

inus.

(Pause)

Garm

ley:O

fcourse

—w

em

akem

istakes.R

ooney:S

urethat’s

natural.G

ormley:

Faulty

materials.

Germ

anclocks.

We

can’talw

aysafford

Sw

issw

atches.R

ooney:T

hey’reexpensive,

rightenough.

Am

Idoing

itright?

Gorm

ley:Y

ou’vegot

thedeto

nato

rin

thew

rongplace.

Rooney:

That’s

thefuse.

Gorm

ley:It’s

thedetonator.

Turn

itaround

theoth

erw

ay.Y

ouw

antto

blowus

allup?

(Rooney

removes

thedeto

nato

r)T

hat’sbetter.

Rem

ember,

Mr

Rooney

—hum

anlife

issacred

—especially

mine.

Rooney:

I’mgetting

old,M

rG

ormley.

Gorm

icy:N

ot

abit

ofit.

You’ve

beenw

orkingtoo

hard,that’s

all.A

ndyou’re

notgetting

thereco

gnition

youdeserve.

Am

anneeds

recognition.Y

ouput

yourh

eartand

soulinto

yourw

orkand

youdeserve

recognition.P

eopletalk

aboutthe

strainof

livingin

thisplace,

butdo

theyrealise

thestrain

we’ve

beenliving

underfor

thepast

sixyears?

It’snot

easym

akinga

bomb.

It’snot

easyplanting

abom

b.Y

ouneed

nervesof

steel,a

dedicatedoutlook,

andlove.

Yes,

Mr

Rooney

—people

don’trealise

that.R

ooney:T

hat’strue.

When

Ith

ink

ofthe

thingsI’ve

donefor

people.G

ormley:

And

me.

Justth

ink

ofit.

Am

anw

orksin

aboring

jobsix

daysa

week.

He

hatesevery

minute

ofit.

Sow

ecom

ealong

andblow

theplace

up.W

hat’sthe

result?H

egets

ayear

offw

orkon

fullpay,

while

theyrebuild

theplace.

But

doese

than

kus

forgiving

himth

atyear

off?R

ooney:H

edoes

not.A

ndw

hatabout

theow

nerof

theplace?

Gorm

ley:E

xactly.H

ecollects

afortune

fromthe

Insurance

Com

pany—

andno

than

ks

fromhim

either.

140

Then

there’sthe

peoplecalled

into

dothe

rebuilding—

thecarpenters,

theglaziers,

thebrick-layers,

theelectricians,

andall

therest

ofthe

crew.

Where

would

theybe

with

out

thebom

bers?O

nthe

Boroo,

Mr

Rooney.

On

thebloody

Boroo.

Rooney:

And

there’sthe

media.

Don’t

forgetthem

.G

ormley:

Iw

on’t.N

othingto

write

about.N

othingto

televise.N

othingto

print.R

epo

rtersout

ofw

ork.P

rinters

sittingon

theirarse.

The

whole

economy

inruins.

People

haveno

conception,M

rR

ooney.N

oconception

atall.

Rooney:

You

knoww

hatI

think?I

thinkw

e’rethe

mainstay

ofthe

economy.

Gorm

ley:C

ertainly!A

ndyou’re

avital

organ,M

rR

ooney.R

emem

berth

at

Rooney:

Ifeel

better

now.

Gorm

ley:A

rew

eready

toproceed?

Rooney:

The

City

centre?G

ormley:

Where

else.(M

usic,the

Bom

bersbegin

their

songand

danceact.)

Rooney

andG

ormley:

We’re

burningtrees

inthe

park,M

ama

We’re

settingfire

tothe

dark,M

ama

We

wouldn’t

doit

fora

lark,M

ama

We

doit

forlove.

We’re

plantingbom

hsby

thescore,

Mam

aIn

everyshop

andvillage

store,M

ama

We

onlyw

ishw

ecould

dom

ore,M

ama

We

doit

forlove.

You

must

admit

that

we

care,M

ama

We’re

takingIreland

tothe

fair,M

ama

We’re

shootingrockets

inthe

air,M

ama

We

doit

forlove.

We’re

turningnight

intoday,

Mam

aW

ew

ouldn’tdo

itfor

thepay,

Mam

aIt’s

better

thana

holiday,M

ama

We

doit

forlove.

And

ifyou

diew

iththe

shock,M

ama

With

everybuilding

that

we

rock,M

ama

We’ll

seeyou

bu

riedin

yourfrock,

Mam

aW

edo

itfor

love.

141

142143

inhis

grave.

You

must

admit

that

we

care,M

ama

We’re

takingIreland

tothe

fair,M

ama

We’re

shootingrockets

inthe

air,M

ama

We

doit

forlove

We

doit

forlove

We

doit

forlove,

(Exit.

Blackout.

And

thesound

ofex

plo

ding

bombs.)

ME

RR

Y-G

O-R

OU

ND

FIV

E

Moses

issitting

nearthe

Merry-G

o-Round.

Dow

nstage—

right

and

left—

Mrs

Ellis

andM

rsR

yan.T

heyare

sittingbeside

two

cradles.T

heyare

knitting.M

oseshas

abottle

inhis

hand.E

vansis

stamping

hisfeet

tow

ardoff

thecold.

Re

looksat

Moses.

Evans:

Well,

ifyou’re

goingto

drinkit

—go

ahead.M

oses:I

feellike

it,C

harlie.T

hetrouble

isw

henI

drinkI

sufferfrom

illusions.E

vans:So

Iheard.

Moses:

Illusionsare

desperatethings,

Charlie,

youbegin

tohope.

Evans:

No

harmin

that.

Moses:

You

haven’tbeen

throughit,

Charlie,

Ihave.

Evans:

Sogo

tobed,

Moses:

How

longm

orehave

yougot

tostan

dthere?

Evans:

Acouple

ofhours.

Moses:

I’llstay

with

you.E

vans:I’m

happieron

my

own.

Moses:

You

needcom

pany,C

harlie.E

vans:I

don’tneed

you.M

oses:Y

ouhave

noidea.

As

longas

I’mhere

you’resafe

fromharm

.I

likeyou,

Charlie.

Idon’t

want

tolose

youju

styet.

Evans:

Later

on,m

aybe?M

oses:L

ateron

someone

isbound

totake

apot

shotat

you.It’s

onthe

cards.B

utas

longas

I’mw

ithyou

you’llbe

allright.

No

oneis

goin

torisk

shootingM

osesD

ocker.E

vans:W

hynot?

You

gotinfluence,

orsom

ething?M

oses:O

rsom

ething,C

harlie.I’m

likea

blackC

aton

theroad

ora

magpie

onthe

roof.B

adluck

toshoot

either.E

vans:I

thought

maybe

itw

ason

accountof

thekids.

Moses:

Kids?

Evans:

Well,

you’dexpect

tosee

kidsaround

aM

erry-G

o-Round,

wouldn’t

you?M

oses:W

e’relong

pastw

orryingabout

thingslike

that,C

harlie.C

hildrenhave

beenshot

beforenow

.E

vans:D

eliberately?M

oses:Y

ounam

eit,

Charlie

—w

e’vedone

it.T

heB

elfastkids

haveseen

itall.

Evans:

An

dyou’ve

stillgot

hopefor

thosekids?

Moses:

Why

no

t?Jt’s

thelast

illusionleft,

Charlie.

Evans:

What

aboutthe

parents?M

oses:T

hem

othersare

theparents,

Charlie.

And

theysit

with

their

kn

itting

waiting

forthe

headsto

roll.C

lick-clickand

clack-clack.N

ohope

there,C

harlie.T

hey’reall

part

ofthe

Merry-G

o-Round.

(Tue

lightfades

totw

ospots

overthe

mothers.

Round

andround

we

go.)M

rsR

yan:P

rods.M

rsE

llis:T

aigs.B

oth:If

onlythey’d

goaw

ay.E

llis:D

own

South.

Ryan:

Back

toS

cotland.B

oth:Y

oucan’t

livew

iththem

.E

llis:I

havesons.

Ryan:

Ihave

daughters.B

oth:If

theym

arriedinto

that

breedE

llis:I’d

crucifythem

.R

yan:I’d

cuttheir

throats.E

llis:Y

oudon’t

know.

Ryan:

You

can’ttell

what

they’relike.

Ellis:

You’ve

gotto

livew

iththem

.R

yan:W

atchhow

theym

ove.E

llis:See

howthey

breed.R

yan:T

hink.E

llis:S

mell.

Both:

Hate.

(Pause)

Ryan:

What

would

my

husbandsay?

Ellis:

What

would

hedo?

Ryan:

He

diedfor

Ireland.E

llis:H

edied

atN

ormandy.

Ryan:

The

poorm

anw

ouldturn

Ellis:

He

paidthe

price.(P

ause)R

yan:I’ll

haveno

mixed

marriages

inthis

house.E

llis:T

hew

holething

isobscene.

Ryan:

Disgusting.

Ellis:

Filth.

A

Ryan:

God

saveIreland.

Ellis:

God

saveU

lster.(P

ause)B

oth:G

odsave

us.(P

ause.T

heycontinue

with

their

knitting.T

heso

und

ofdust-bin

lidsbeing

bangedtogether.

The

lightrises

onM

oses.H

eis

alone.H

ehas

abook

inhis

hand.H

eaddresses

theaudience.)

Moses:

Hate

—you

cansm

ellit.

(The

soundof

dust-binlids)

Listen

toit.

(He

opensthe

book.R

eads)If

thebattle-cries

ofthe

coming

months

areto

be“I

hatethe

Catholics”

and“I

hatethe

Prods”

and“I

hateB

ritishtroops”

—and

ifthose

who

fighthave

now

iderunderstanding

ofw

hatthey

areinvolved

in,the

workers

ofB

elfast—

Pro

testant

andC

atholic—

facea

disaster,w

hileth

eirm

asters,the

Ruling

Class,

andthe

foreignindustrialists,

faceby

contrast,a

temporary

inconvenience,follow

edby

decadesof

supremacy

overan

impoverished

andconfused

poolof

cheaplabour.

(The

bangingof

dust-binlids

grows

louder.T

helight

fadeson

Moses.

Stage

rightand

stageleft

—tw

ogroups

ofpeople

appear.T

heyare

armed

with

clubs,chains

andbottles.

They

carrydust-bin

lidsfor

shields.T

heyco

niro

nt

eachoth

eracross

thestage

chanting“H

ate

...H

ate

...H

ateA

mom

entand

theyattack

eachother.

“Battle

Dance.”

Sounds

oflorries

approaching,sirens,

etc.P

oliceand

soldiersarrive

inrio

tgear.

Those

who

arestill

onth

eirfeet

make

arun

forit,

pursuedby

thesoldiers

andthe

police.S

hotscan

beheard

off.M

osesenters,

stillcarrying

thebook.

He

looksat

thebodies

onthe

stage,drops

thebook

indisgust,

andw

alksoff.

Mrs

Ellis

andM

rsR

yan,w

hohave

con-tin

nedw

iththeir

knittin

gall

throughth

ebattle,

reachout

andbegin

torock

thecradles.

Music.)

Mrs

Ryan

and

Mrs

Ellis:

(Singing)

Go

tosleep,

my

sweet

acushlaL

etthe

Troubles

drift

onby

0can’t

youhear

thebullets

humm

ingT

hat’san

IrishL

ullabye.144

Iknow

thestreets

arefilled

with

rubbleB

arbed-wire

fenceseveryw

hereB

utone

dayyou’ll

dieand

goto

Heaven

And

there’llbe

nobarbed-w

irethere.

Sogo

tosleep,

my

sweet

acushlaL

etthe

Troubles

drift

onby

ocan’t

youhear

thebazookas

humm

ingT

hat’san

IrishL

ullabye.

Iknow

thesoldiers

giveyou

troubleB

ombs

andbullets

fillthe

airB

utone

dayyou’ll

dieand

goto

Heaven

And

there’llbe

nom

oresoldiers

there.

Sogo

tosleep,

my

sweet

acushlaL

etthe

Troubles

drifton

byo

can’tyou

hearthe

bazookashum

ming

That’s

anIrish

Lullabye.

Iknow

the

skiesare

tornand

raggedA

ndthe

world

nolonger

caresB

utone

dayyou’ll

dieand

goto

Heaven

And

there’llbe

nom

oreT

roublesthere.

So

goto

sleep,m

ysw

eetacushla

Let

theT

roublesdrift

onby

ocan’t

youhear

thebazookas

humm

ingT

hat’san

IrishL

uflabye

(Sounds

ofgunfire.

bazookas,etc.

Black

out.)ME

RR

Y-G

o-RO

UN

DS

IX

Drum

beats.T

helight

riseson

theF

uneral

Parlour.

Tw

ocoffins

areresting

ontrestles.

The

Undertak

erenters,

stands

between

thetw

ocoffins

andsighs

deeply.M

rsR

yanenters.

She

isdressed

inblack.

Undertak

er:M

rs...7

Mrs

Ryan:

Ryan.

Mrs

Sheila

Ryan

Undertak

er:A

sadloss.

Mrs

Ryan:

Desperate.

Shot

bythe

Prods.

Undertak

er:Indeed.

Mrs

Ryan:

And

thendeserted

byhis

comrades.

145

jA

policetell

you?believe

aw

ordthey’d

say.I’ll

it’sno

deathfor

apatriot.

andm

akeup

forit

—(m

ovesnum

ber

one)—

You

seeI’ve

jokeat

all.W

ouldyou

careto

view

Undertak

er:P

usheddow

na

drainI

und

erstand

?M

rsR

yan:Im

agineit.

Undertak

er:I

can.I

canindeed.

Am

ostu

nfo

rtun

ateincident.

Mrs

Ryan:

It’sno

jokebeing

pusheddow

na

drain—

evenif

youare

dead.U

ndertak

er:N

othe

remains?

Mrs

Ryan:

His

comrades

didthat.

Dropped

himinto

it.Y

ou’dth

ink

they’dcarry

himhom

e.U

ndertak

er:Y

ouw

ould,M

rsR

yan:T

heydidn’t.

They

tippedhim

headfirst

down

thedrain.

Undertak

er:W

hat

kindof

drain?M

rsR

yan:I

begyour

pardon?U

ndertak

er:I

mean

—w

asit

inthe

Shankill

orthe

Falls

Road?

Mrs

Ryan:

Idon’t

know.

Undertak

er:D

idn’tthe

Mrs

Ryan:

Iw

ouldn’ttell

youthis

much

—

Undertak

er:W

e’lltry

hertow

ardscoffin

dressedhim

ingreen.

Mrs

Ryan:

Isth

atvelvet?

Undertak

er:D

oyou

likeit?

It’sR

epublicanm

ade.M

rsR

yan:F

romD

ublin?U

ndertak

er:O

fcourse.

Mrs

Ryan:

He

gothis

gelignitefrom

there.K

eptit

underthe

bedin

aplastic

bag.(P

ause)W

hat

abo

ut

music?

An

dI’ve

addedan

originaltouch

inthe

way

ofhand

kerchiefs.M

rsR

yan:H

andkerchiefs?U

nd

ertaker:

For

them

ourners.B

lacksilk

with

agreen

bo

rder

anda

harpin

thecentre.

Mrs

Ryan:

He’d

liketh

at.U

nd

ertaker:

I’mglad.

And

youcan

leavethe

musical

arrangements

tom

e.Y

ouw

on’tbe

disappointed.I

promise

you.T

hisw

ay.M

rsR

yan:A

drainis

aterrible

thingto

bestuffed

into.(T

heU

nd

ertaker

ushersher

out.P

ause.M

rsE

llisen

tersfrom

theopposite

side.S

hestan

ds

lookingat

thecoffin.

The

Undertak

erretu

rns.)

Un

dertak

er:M

rsE

llis?M

rsE

llis:Y

es.U

nd

ertaker:

Ihave

everythingarranged.

Mrs

Ellis:

Bom

bedhe

was

—by

theT

aigs.U

nd

ertaker:

Dreadful.

Mrs

Ellis:

Icould

hardlyrecognise

him.

Un

dertak

er:Y

ouronly

son?M

rsE

llis:I’ve

gotone

more.

Un

dertak

er:H

em

ustbe

agreat

comfort

toyou.

Mrs

Ellis:

He’ll

defendU

lster.U

nd

ertaker:

Inthe

way

ofm

usic?M

rsE

llis:I

want

nothingfancy.

Un

dertak

er:“A

bideW

ithM

e”?M

rsE

llis:If

youlike.

We’re

plainpeople.

Will

therebe

atru

mpet

blowing

with

that?

Un

dertak

er:T

rum

pets

areextra.

Mrs

Ellis:

We

cando

with

out

it.If

theL

ordhad

wanted

usto

enterthe

Kingdom

ofH

eavenw

ithtru

mpets

blowing

hew

ouldhave

saidso.

There’s

nothingab

ou

tth

atin

theB

ible,U

nd

ertaker:

Maybe

heforgot

tom

entionit.

Inth

ew

ayof

dressnow

—(P

ushingher

towards

coffinnum

bertw

o)—

You

seeI’ve

givenhim

asash.

Mrs

Ellis:

He’s

entitledto

that.

What’s

that

he’sgot

inhis

hand?U

nd

ertaker:

Ah

‘Now

Ithought

you’dappreciate

that.It’s

acopy

of“T

heO

rangeS

tandard”.A

ndhere

—

avery

nicelittle

bo

ok

let—

“The

Sayings

ofT

heR

ev.Ian

Paisley.”

Mrs

Ellis:

He

was

neverone

forreading.

Un

dertak

er:It’s

thethought

that

counts.

A.

Undertak

er:Y

oum

eanfor

thefuneral?

Mrs

Ryan:

Iw

asthinking

ofsom

ethingclassical.

Undertak

er:H

owab

out

“God

saveIreland”?

Th

atshould

adda

historicaltouch.

Mrs

Ryan

We

sangth

atw

henhis

fatherdied.

Undertak

er:W

asth

ata

recent

occurrence?M

rsR

yan:B

lown

uphe

was.

Itold

himto

becareful.

Haven’t

yougot

anythingelse?

Undertak

er:W

ell,there’s

always

“The

Bogside

Doodle

Bug”

or“W

e’reStill

Waiting

For

JackL

yni”

.M

rsR

yan:A

rethey

classical?U

ndertak

er:G

ivethem

time.

Tw

entyyears

fromnow

andthey’ll

beon

Radio

Eireann.

Mrs

Ryan:

What

about

flags.U

ndertak

er:T

heusual

tn-co

lou

rdraped

overthe

coffin.

146147

Mrs

Ellis:

(Peering

intothe

coffin)I’m

gladhe’s

gothis

club.H

ew

asnever

with

out

it.U

ndertak

er:T

henhe’ll

crossover

theJordan

instyle,

Mrs

Ellis.

Will

therebe

many

mourners?

Mrs

Ellis:

The

Loyalists

ofU

lster.U

ndertak

er:I’d

better

ord

ersom

em

orehandkerchiefs.

It’salw

aysa

pleasureto

seea

largetu

rnout

ata

funeral.T

hereare

som

anyof

themnow

adaysth

atpeople

arebeginning

tolose

interest.N

ot

that

I’mcom

plaining,of

course.F

romm

ypo

int

ofview

busi

nesshas

neverbeen

better.B

utit’s

notall

aquestion

ofbusiness,

isit.

Mrs

Ellis?

One

doeshave

one’sfeelings.

Mrs

Ellis:

Do

Ipay

now

?U

ndertak

er:P

lease,M

rsE

llis!A

tm

oments

likethis

cashis

thelast

thingI’m

concernedw

ith.(P

ause)Y

oucan

paylater.

Inthe

meantim

e,you

canleave

everythingin

my

hands.I’ve

beenin

thebusiness

twenty-five

years.I

say“business”

but

it’sreally

avocation.

An

actof

love,as

youm

ightsay.

Mrs

Ellis:

I’msure.

Undertak

er:T

hisw

ay,M

rsE

llis.

(He

ushersher

out.A

nd

return

sa

mom

entlater.

He

stands

fora

mom

entlooking

atthe

two

coffins—and

suddenlybreaks

intosong.

Music).

Undertak

er:0

Happy

Days

arehere

againS

ectarianw

arsare

onagain

And

it’shang

theP

opeand

bomb

theP

rodsH

appydays

arehere

again.T

he

politiciansm

aysay

That

we

will

ruethe

day.B

utH

appyD

aysare

hereagain

The

skiesare

redw

ithfear

againA

ndthe

Undertaker’s

hiringm

enH

appyD

aysare

hereagain.

Im

adetw

ocoffins

todayA

nd

more

areon

thew

ay.O

Happy

Days

arehere

againA

ndU

lster’son

them

oveagain.

The

graveyard’sopening

wide

againH

appydays

arehere

againT

here’sshooting

upin

theF

allsT

here’sblood

onD

erry’sW

alls.

oH

appyD

aysare

hereagain

Sectarian

Wars

areon

againA

ndthe

skiesare

redw

ithfear

againH

AP

PY

DA

YS

AR

EH

ER

EA

GA

IN.

(Blackout)

ME

RR

Y-G

O-R

OU

ND

SE

VE

N

The

lightrises

onthe

Merry-G

o-Round.

Moses

enters.H

ecarries

ahalf-em

ptybottle

inhis

hand.H

eis

slightlyd

run

k,

Moses:

Charlie.

Charlie.

(No

answer)

Don’t

tellm

ethe

Brits

havegone?

(He

sings)“G

oodbye—

don’tsighee

—w

ipethe

tear,M

osesdear,

fromyour

eyeeee..

.

Charlie.

(The

Child

enters)C

hild:H

e’sgone,

Mr

Moses.

Moses:

Gone?

Gone

where?

Child:

He

went

offin

acar.

Moses:

With

soldiers?C

hild:I

thinkso.

(Moses

looksuneasy)

Moses:

Ishouldn’t

haveleft

him(P

ause)W

hat

areyou

doinghere

atthis

time

ofnight?

Child:

Icam

eto

playon

theM

erry-Go-R

ound.M

oses:Y

oushould

beat

home

inbed.

Isn’tyour

mother

athom

e?C

hild:She’s

out.M

oses:W

hatab

ou

tyour

father?C

hild:H

e’snot

with

usanym

ore.M

oses:W

hereis

he?C

hild:I

don’tknow

.C

anI

playon

theM

erry-Go-R

ound?M

oses:N

ot

now,

child.C

ome

overhere

andsit

besidem

e.(T

hechild

doesso)

Ishouldn’t

drink—you

knowthat?

Child:

Everybody

drinksM

oses:It’s

notgood

form

e.Y

ouknow

that’sD

ota

realM

erry-Go-R

ound,don’t

you?C

hild:Y

es.M

oses:It’s

just

make-believe.

But

oneof

thesedays

I’mgoing

builda

realone

with

wooden

horsesth

atm

oveup

anddow

nand

roundand

round,W

ouldyou

likethat?

149148

Child:

Yes.

Moses:

Iw

onaerw

hathappened

toC

harlie?C

hild:I

hateB

rits—

do

n’t

yo

u?

Moses:

Idon’t

hateanyone,

child.I

just

wish

they’dleav

eus

alon

e.D

oy

ou

likem

usic?C

hild:Y

es.(M

osestu

rns

onthe

Merry-G

o-Round

music)

Moses:

Do

you

know

that

song?C

hild:E

very

one

know

sth

at.M

oses:C

om

eon.

Stan

dup

and

singit

with

me.

(The

childjoins

him.

They

singand

danceround

ina

circle).M

osesand

Child:

Children

—C

hildrenW

hatare

yougoing

todo

When

youare

childrenA

llthe

littleguns

go—

bangA

ndthen

you’redead,

Sw

eethearts—

Sw

eetheartsW

hatare

yougoing

todo

When

youare

Sw

eethearts?M

Ithe

littleguns

go—

bang.A

ndthen

you’redead.

Soldiers

—S

oldiersW

hatare

yougoing

todo

When

you’rea

soldier?A

llthe

littleguns

go—

bang.A

ndthen

you’redead.

Sleeping

—S

leepingC

hildrenof

thenight

When

youare

sleepingS

tillthe

littleguns

go—

bangInside

yourhead.

Weeping

—W

eepingA

]lthe

littlechildren

They

arew

eepingL

isteningto

thebang,

bangbang

Bang,

bang—

you’redead.

(The

music

continuesover

andthe

lightbegins

tofade

and

riseon

thebar

ofa

publichouse.)150

L

MER

RY

-Go-R

OU

ND

EIGH

T

Evans

and

two

oth

ersoldiers

arestanding

atthe

bardrinking.

At

thetable

tothe

right,the

Barm

anis

sitting

playingcards

with

Gorm

leyand

Rooney.

Sitting

alone—

and

totally

ignoredby

theo

ther

customers

—is

Mrs

Ryan.

She

sitsw

ithher

backto

thew

attstaring

into

thedistance.

The

music

iscarried

overfor

am

oment.

The

Barm

anis

humm

ingthe

song.T

hem

usicfades.

Sergeant:

The

importan

tthing

is—

we’re

here.R

ight,E

vans?E

vans:R

ight,S

arge.S

ergeant:I

mean,

ifw

ew

eren’there

we’d

bein

Sw

anseaor

Liverpool.

Right?

Evans:

Dead

on.S

ergeant:W

e’dbe

sittingin

some

nicefriendly

pub,having

anice

friendlydrink,

with

some

nicefriendly

dollybirds.

Right?

MacD

onnell:A

ye.S

ergeant:I’m

gladyou

spoke,M

acDonnell.

Iw

asju

stgoing

tosay

it’sa

pityw

edidn’t

bringyou

alongfor

thecrack.

MacD

onnell:I’m

notfeeling

well,

Sergeant:

It’sall

theselate-night

boozingparties

you’vebeen

attending.S

ociallife

inB

elfastis

wearing

usall

out.E

vans:It’s

not

likehom

e.S

ergeant:Y

oucan

sayth

atagain.

They

didn’ttell

usabout

Irishhospitality.

The

way

theydrag

youinto

theirhom

es,offer

youfood,

freedrinks,

sexym

assagesand

hair-raisingrelief.

4

MacD

onnell:R

elief?S

ergeant:I

thought

that

would

getyou.

(To

Evans)

The

Belfast

Massage

Parlours

—U

lster’sco

ntrib

utio

nto

the

war

againstterrorism

.G

ivethe

troopsa

bit

ofthe

other,E

vans:I

didn’tknow

abo

ut

that.

Sergeant:

You

haven’tbeen

herelong

enough.B

ethe

knows.

Don’t

you,H

aggis?M

acDonnell:

Aye.

Sergeant:

Aye.

Well,

don’tju

ststan

dthere.

Tell

him.

MacD

onnell:I’m

notin

them

ood.S

ergeant:H

e’sbeing

temprem

entalnow

.(to

Evans)

You

knowsom

ething,E

vans?W

henI

firstsaw

Hag

gis

151

on“M

astermind”

Iknew

hew

asa

deadcert

forthe

army.

Iactually

went

tothe

CO

.and

said“G

rabhim

.O

fferhim

anythingbut

signhim

up”.I

don’tknow

where

thearm

yw

ouldbe

without

peoplelike

him.

Evans:

He

makes

me

feelasham

ed.S

ergeant:Inferior

isthe

word.

Can

youim

aginehim

beingin

terrogated

bythe

IRA

?T

he

mind

bogglesat

the

flowof

information.

MacD

onnell:

Iw

askidnapped

once.C

orporal:I

knowyou

were.

(To

Evans)

Three

weeks

hew

asm

issing.W

eth

ought

hew

asdead.

MacD

onnell:I

wasn’t

Sergeant:

Who

toldyou?

(To

Evans)

Then

oneday.

some

Geezer

fromthe

IRA

phonesthe

CO

.and

offersto

sendhim

back.T

heC

.O.

refused.T

heyeven

offereda

cease-fire.A

nythingto

getrid

ofhim

.M

acDonnell:

Iescaped.

Sergeant:

Like

hellyou

did.T

heIR

Adum

pedyou

onthe

UD

Aand

theU

DA

packedyou

intoa

laundrybask

etand

droppedyou

outsidethe

camp.

You

almost

causeda

Civil

War.

MacD

onnell:I

enjoyedthose

threew

eeks.E

vans:D

idthey

tortu

reyou?

MacD

onnell:N

aw.

We

playedcards

allday

andI

taught

themsom

eS

cottishrebel

songs.S

ergeant:T

heym

usthave

lovedth

at.E

vans:Y

ouw

eredead

lucky,M

ac.M

acDonnell:

How

?I

didn’tknow

nothing.W

hatS

quaddiedoes?

Sergeant:

He

knows

enough.A

ndhe’s

aB

rit—

that’senough.

MacD

onnell:W

ho’sa

Brit?

I’ma

Scot.

Sergeant:

Oh,

Christ.

MacD

onnell:W

herethe

helldo

youcom

eoff

callingm

ea

Brit?

Evans:

Cool

off,M

ac.M

acDonnell:

And

you’reW

elsh.W

hat

areyou

lettinghim

callyou

aE

ritfor?

(To

Sergeant)

Stripes

onyour

armdoesn’t

giveyou

therig

ht

tocall

me

names.

Sergeant:

I’lltell

youone

thing—

thesooner

we’re

ridof

theS

cotch,the

Welsh

andthe

flamin

gIrish

,the

happierI’ll

be.M

acDonnell:

You

haveno

rightto

callm

enam

esS

ergeant:B

eltup.

And

let’shave

anoth

erdrink,

forG

od’ssake.

MacD

onnell:(T

ohim

self)B

loodycheek

I

Sergeant:

Haggis!

(To

Barm

an)S

ame

again,P

addy.B

arman:

Sorry,

Gentlem

en.T

hebar’s

closed.S

ergeant:A

tthis

hour?(T

heB

arman

shrugshis

shoul

ders)W

hat’sthe

problem?

Berm

an:N

oproblem

.T

hebar’s

closed,that’s

all.S

ergeant:Y

ou’veserved

drinksat

thishour

beforenow

.E

vans:L

eaveit,

Sarge.

We’ve

hadenough

anyway.

Sergeant:

Who

said?W

e’llhave

onem

oreround.

(rhe

Barm

anlooks

atG

ormleg.)

Gorniley:

Ifhe

wants

adrink,

lethim

haveit.

Barnian:

It’spast

closingtim

e.G

onnley:W

hatdo

yousay,

Mr

Rooney?

Isit

pastclo

sing

time?

Rooney:

‘Tis

onlythe

shankof

theevening.

(The

Barm

ansighs

andgoes

tothe

bar)B

arman:

(To

Sergeant)

What’ll

itbe?

Sergeant:

Who

arethose

two?

Barm

an:Just

friends,S

ergeant.S

ergeant:(T

oM

acDonnell)

You

everseen

thosetw

obefore?

MacD

onnell:N

o.G

onnieg:Y

ouw

orriedab

out

us,S

ergeant?S

ergeant:N

ot

worried.

Can

youidentify

yourselves?(G

ormley

andR

ooneyproduce

their

driv

inglicences.

The

Sergeant

examines

them.)

Seem

sall

right.R

ooney:H

onest

citizens,S

ergeant.Y

oucouldn’t

findbetter.

Sergeant:

Maybe.

Barm

an:Y

oustill

want

yourdrinks,

Sergeant?

Sergeant:

Yes.

Sam

eagain.

(He

return

sto

thebar.

The

Barm

anserves

drinks.T

heS

ergeantputs

hism

oneyon

the

counter.)B

arman:

No

charge.S

ergeant:L

ook,B

uster—

we

payfor

ourdrinks.

Barm

an:N

ooffence,

Sergeant.

(The

Barm

anretu

rns

tothe

table)E

vans:(T

oS

ergeant)W

hat

isit,

Sergeant?

Sergeant:

Nothing.

Iju

sthad

anuneasy

feeling,that’s

all.M

acDonnell:

Let’s

getout

ofhere.

Sergeant:

We’ll

finishour

drinks.(H

etu

rns

towards

thetrio

atthe

table)Y

ouknow

,there

was

atim

ew

henthis

was

am

orefriendly

pub.B

arman:

Itstill

is,S

ergean

t152

153

Sergeant:

Idon’t

thin

kso.

There

was

atim

ew

henyou

couldn’tdo

enoughfor

thearm

y.G

orniley:W

henw

asth

at,S

ergeant?S

ergeant:W

henw

efirst

came

overhere.

We

came

topro

tectyou

fromthe

Prods.

Rem

ember?

Gorniley:

Itw

asa

longtim

eago,

Sergeant.

Sergeant:

Itake

ityou’re

not

gratefulany

more?

Rooney:

We’re

them

ostgrateful

peoplein

thew

orld.S

ureeveryone

knows

that.G

ormley:

You

finishyour

drink,S

ergeant.N

oone

will

both

eryou.

Sergeant:

I’llfinish

my

drinkw

henI’m

goodand

ready.(P

ause).Y

oupeople

talkabout

intern

men

there.

What

thehell

doyou

thin

kit’s

beenlike

forus?

Som

eof

my

mates

haven’tbeen

outsidethe

camp

inthree

years.N

owhere

togo.

Nothing

todo.

Do

youth

ink

it’sbeen

easyfor

us?Y

outh

ink

we

likeserving

inthis

God4orsaken

hole?(P

ause)W

ecom

eout

fora

friendlydrink

—and

what

dow

eget?

Hassle.

Gorm

ley:T

here’sno

hassle,S

ergeant.S

ergeant:D

on’tgive

me

that.B

utI

tellyou

thism

uchC

hum—

don’thassle

with

me.

Ican

mix

itw

iththe

bestof

them.

Gorm

ley:S

ureyou

can.(P

ause,A

nuneasy

silence.)B

arman:

Will

that

beall,

Sergeant?

Sergeant:

Yes.

MacD

onnell:T

hereyou

arenow

.(T

hecustom

erssm

ile.S

ergeantlooks

atM

acDonnell.)

Sergeant:

(To

Macflonnell).

Scotch

ghett.(T

hesoldiers

leanover

thebar.

The

cu

stom

ersretu

rnto

their

game

ofcards.

Pause.

Mrs

Ryan

takesa

drink.L

ooksat

theaudience.)

Mrs.

Ryan:

Iburied

my

sonthis

morning.

Not

many

peopleat

thefuneral.

Too

many

funerals,I

suppose.Y

ouhave

tobe

well-know

nnow

.Im

portant.N

oth

ing

importan

tab

out

Johnny.I

made

himhis

breakfast.S

andwiches

forlunch.

Watched

himshave.

Put

onth

atridiculous

tie.I

neverdid

likeit.

Italk

edto

theneighbours

afterwards.

Agrey

Cortina

vith

two

men

init.

Johnnyw

alkingalong

thepavem

ent.W

hyJohnny?

He

hadn’tbeen

toM

assfor

months.

SawM

rsE

llistoo.

Her

sonw

asblow

nup.

Reprisals,

Isu

ppose.It’s

likea

merry-go-round.

Strapped

tothe

horsesand

can’tget

loose.I

wonder

what

sheth

ou

gh

t?

154

A..

We’re

adifferent

breed.(P

ause)I

saww

hereJohnny

was

shot.T

heblood

stillw

eton

thepavem

ent.Saw

hisbody

atthe

mortuary.

His

mouth

open.A

silentsh

out

Means

nothingnow

.N

oones

listening.Y

oucould

screamall

dayat

peopleand

they’dtu

rntheir

backs.C

an’tblam

ethem

,I

suppose.It’s

beengoing

ontoo

long.P

eoplehave

togo

onliving.

(Pause).

At

least,som

eof

themdo.

Iw

asthinking

ofM

rsC

ooneytoday.

Shew

alkedinto

theL

agan.T

ookher

childw

ithher.

Iw

onderw

hatshe

saidto

thechild?

Walking

into

thew

atershe

must

havesaid

something.

“I’mtaking

youfor

asw

im?”

“Ilove

you?”(P

ause)I

loveyou.

(Pause)

It’sa

colddeath.

She

didit

forlove.

We

alldo.

Couldn’t

lether

childgrow

upinto

allthis

darkness.(P

ause.L

ooksat

theoth

ercustom

ers.)P

layingcards.

Talking.

Nothing

todo.

(She

sings)

My

sonJohn,

my

sonJohn

Walking

inthe

noondaysun

Walking

bythe

Lagan

sideD

iedfor

thelove

ofhis

country.

Take

my

heart

andhold

ithigh

Inthe

forestsof

thesky

My

sonJohn,

bornto

dieM

lfor

thelove

ofhis

country.

Som

eare

weak

andsom

eare

braveC

an’tyou

hearthe

wild

winds

rave?D

arkbirds

singby

my

son’sgrave

All

forthe

loveof

hiscountry.

My

sonJohn,

my

sonJohn

Walking

inthe

noondaysun

My

sonJohn

nowdead

andgone

All

forthe

loveof

hiscountry.

(Before

thesong

hasended,

two

Gunm

enappear

andstan

dloading

their

guns.T

hesong

continues.T

hecu

stom

erscontinue

playingcards,

thesoldiers

chattingat

thebar.

No

oneappears

tonotice

thegunm

en.T

hem

oment

thesong

ends—

theG

unmen

openfire

onthe

soldiers.T

hesoldiers

fallto

theground.

The

game

con

tinuesas

thelight

fadeson

thebar

andrises

onT

heP

reachers.T

heystan

dstage

righ

tan

dstage

leftan

dspeak

direct

tothe

audience.)155

Preacher

One:

Today

we

suffera

crucifixion.W

eare

aC

hristianpeople.

When

Ch

ristdied

onthe

Cross

hedid

sofor

thesalvation

ofm

ankind.T

odayhe

iscru

cified

againand

theagony

isno

lessthan

theagonies

ofC

alvary.P

reacherT

wo:H

owm

anym

orecrucifixions

dow

erequire

beforew

elay

down

oursw

ordsand

stand

tog

ether

aschildren

ofG

od?I

amtired

ofstanding

here.I

amtired

ofpraying

overthe

dead.I

amtired

ofthe

bloodI

wade

throughday

afterday

andnight

afternight.

No

man

isjustified

intaking

thelife

ofanother.

God

—and

onlyG

od—

hasthe

rightto

recallthe

living.P

reacherO

ne:I

standhere

todayas

aM

insterof

God

andI

condemn

them

urdersof

thesem

en.It

will

besaid

that

thesem

enw

erepart

ofan

army

ofoccupation.

andth

atw

hatis

happeninghere

inIreland

isa

war

ofliberation.

Liberation

fromw

hat?A

ndw

ho,in

Christ’s

name,

isbeing

liberated?Is

itthe

men,

wom

enand

childrenw

how

alkthe

streetsknow

ingth

atthey

may

beblow

nout

ofexistence

atany

minute?

Isit

thosehundreds

ofinnocent

peoplew

hohave

alreadydied

atthe

handsof

bomber

andgunm

an?

Or

were

theyalso

part

ofthe

army

ofoccupation?

They

occupynow

theground

ofU

lsterand

theirblood

isN

OT

removable.

Preacher

Tw

o:M

anypeople

will

say,th

atas

aM

inisterof

God

Ishould

forgivem

yenem

ies.I

try,but

Iam

not

Christ.

Ido

not

havehis

infinitecapacity

forlove.

ftis

not

easyto

lovethe

evilin

mankind.

Itis

not

easyto

lookupon

them

utilatedbodies

ofthe

deadand

sayof

thosew

hoare

responsible“F

orgivethem

,for

theyknow

not

what

theydo.”

Isom

etimes

feelth

atthey

knowonly

toow

ellw

hatthey

do.P

erhapsI

amnot

agood

Christian.

Perhaps

noneof

usare.

We

must

pray.L

etus

prayth

atC

hrist

forgivesus

all.(T

hecast

drift

onto

thestage

andform

achoir.

Joinedby

theT

wo

Preachers,

theysing:)

Choir:

(Air

“Silent

Night”):

Three

boyscam

eto

Belfast,

theirco

unby

toserve

But

theyall

met

afate,

that

nom

anshould

deserveF

or

theyw

ereoff

dutyand

outfor

theday

When

allthree

were

shotby

thebold

IRA

Now

they’resleeping

inH

eavenlypeace

Sleeping

inH

eavenlyP

eace.

156

Choir:

(The

accompanying

music

nowbegins

tochange.

Itbecom

esharsh,

brashand

al

most

painfulto

theear.

We

heargunfire

inthe

distance.T

hecast

continuesto

singagainst

them

usicof

violenceand

destru

ction

.)

The

threelay

tog

ether

inth

atco

un

tryroad

Still

friendsin

death,they

hadstood

bythe

codeO

fserving

theircountry

with

honourand

prideL

et’sbe

gratefulin

Belfast,

theystood

byour

sideN

owthey’re

sleepingin

Heavenly

Peace.

Sleeping

inH

eavenlypeace.

Silent

night,H

olynight

Ml

iscalm

,all

isb

righ

tR

oundyon

Virgin,

moth

erand

Child

Holy

Infan

tso

tenderand

mild

Sleepin

Heavenly

Peace

Sleep

inH

eavenlyP

eace

(Sounds

ofbom

bsexploding;

machine-gun

fire,ro

ckets

—as

thecast

wander

slowly

offstage.)

EN

DO

FP

AR

TO

NE

157

4 L.

Proudly

march

behindour

bannersF

irmly

standbehind

ourm

enW

ew

illhave

themfree

tohelp

usB

uilda

nationonce

again.A

llthe

peoplestand

togetherP

roudly,firm

ly,on

yourw

ayN

everfear

andnever

falterT

illour

boyscom

ehom

eto

stay

ME

RR

Y-G

o.R

0W

4D

NIN

E

The

soundsof

lorriesand

carsapproaching.

The

lightfades

inthe

auditoriumto

thesounds

ofvoices

pro

testingand

screaming.

The

stagerem

ainsdark.

The

beamof

searchlightssw

eepover

theauditorium

assoldiers

enterthe

theatre

anddrag

peoplefrom

theaudience

onto

thestage.

The

lightrises

onthe

stage.T

hecast

arestanding

inline

facingthe

audience.M

usic.

Cast:A

rmoured

carsand

tanks

andguns

Cam

eto

takeaw

ayour

sonsN

owevery

man

must

staxidbehind

The

men

behindthe

wire.

Through

thelittle

streetsof

Belfast

Inthe

darkof

earlym

ornB

ritishsoldiers

came

marauding

Wrecking

littlehom

esw

ithscorn.

Heediess

ofthe

criesof

childrenD

raggingfathers

fromtheir

bedsB

eatingsons

while

helplessm

othersW

atched

theblood

flowfrom

theirheads.

Arm

oured

carsetc.

Not

forthem

thejudge

andjury

Nor

indeeda

crime

atall

Being

Irishm

eansthey’re

guiltySo

we’re

guiltyone

andall.

Round

thew

orldthe

truth

will

echoC

romw

ell’sm

enare

hereagain

England’s

name

againis

sulliedIn

theeyes

ofhonest

men.

Arm

ouredcars,

etc

.

Arm

ouredcars,

etc.

(Lights

fadeand

riseon

Moses.

He

ispol

ishingthe

faceson

theM

erry.G

o.R

ound.)

ME

RR

Y-G

o-RO

UN

DT

EN

Moses

(Singing):

Adism

aldaw

nw

asbreaking

asthey

tookher

man

away

Not

knowing

what

was

hiscrim

eJust

what

hew

asguilty

ofnone

ofthem

couldsay

But

they’llth

ink

ofsom

ethingin

time.

He

saysgoodbye

andrem

ember

We

shallovercom

e.F

reethe

people,let

themhave

their

sayF

reethe

people,let

themsee

lightof

day.M

oses:I

couldbe

polishingthis

fromnow

tillD

oom

sday.

Itw

on’tm

akeany

difference.It’s

roundand

roundw

eg

o—

andevery

daythe

facesbegin

tolook

more

andm

orealike.

Im

issC

harlie.A

Brit,

but

Im

isshim

.(H

elooks

atthe

faceof

Private

Evans

onth

eM

erry-Go-R

ound)N

oneed

todesert

now,

Charlie.

You’re

oneof

us.(M

rsC

astleenters)

‘Morn

ing,M

rsC

astle.M

rsC

astle:M

oses.M

oses:H

ow’s

thehusband?

Mrs

Castle:

They

arrestedhim

thism

orning.M

oses:I’m

sorryto

hear

that.

Mrs

Castle:

He’s

usedto

it.If

indoubt—

pickup

Billy

Castle,

that’sthe

motto

atthe

Barracks.

Moses:

He’s

beenin

the

Kesh

twice

now,

hasn’the?

Mrs

Castle:

Three

times.

Ifhe

goesin

thereagain

they’llbe

callinghim

Yo-Y

o.M

oses:O

neday

it’llall

endand

we

cantu

rnthe

placeinto

aholiday

camp.

Plastic

ducksin

thelatrines

‘59

PA

RT

TW

O

“WE

DO

ifF

OR

LO

VE

”

TH

EL

AW

AN

DT

HE

PE

OP

LE

158

A—

A

andbunting

onthe

barbed-wire.

Would

youlike

acup

oftea?

Mrs

Castle:

No,

thanks,M

oses.M

oses:A

wee

drin

kthen?

Mrs

Castle:

Ifyou

like.(S

hesits

nearthe

Merry-G

o-R

ound

while

Moses

pours

drinks?D

on’tyou

everget

tiredof

that

Merry-G

o-Round?

Moses:

It’sbeen

with

me

forso

longnow

,M

rsC

astle—I

thin

kit’s

becoming

part

ofm

e.M

rsC

astle:It’s

anightm

are.M

oses:C

heers.M

rsC

astle:C

heers.(T

heydrin

k)

When

Sergeant

Blanche

came

tothe

housethis

morning

Iknew

Billy

was

introuble.

Itw

asB

lanchew

hoarrested

himlast

time.

Moses:

Isth

atthe

Sergeant

Blanche

who

usedto

raidthe

Falls?

Mrs.

Castle:

The

same.

He’s

come

overto

ourside

now.

He

must

havegot

tiredkicking

theT

aigs.M

oses:A

Fascist,

rightenough.

Mrs

Castle

But

with

religion.H

e’sgot

religionon

thebrain.

“God

saveall

here”,he

cries—

pushinghis

footthrough

thew

indow.

They

wrote

asong

abo

ut

himonce.

Moses:

Irem

ember

it.I

takeit

you’vegiven

upthe

religion?M

rs.C

astle:N

everhad

itto

giveup.

My

fatherw

asan

atheist.C

ouldn’tstan

dC

atholicsor

Prods.

When

Im

arriedB

illyhe

wouldn’t

lethim

insidethe

house.B

illyis

aL

oyalist,but

religionis

thelast

thingon

hism

ind.M

adeno

differenceto

theD

a.O

ncea

Pro

dalw

aysa

Prod.

Sam

ew

iththe

Catholics.

They

may

saythey’ve

givenit

up,but

it’singrained

intothem

.M

oses:H

ehad

apoint.

Mrs

Castle:

Maybe.

But

Im

arriedB

illyfor

himself

—

not

hisreligion

orhis

politics.If

theytake

himaw

aythis

time

Idon’t

knoww

hatI’m

goingto

do.It’s

madness.

Sitting

athom

enight

afternight

waiting

forB

illy.W

hat

kindof

am

arriageis

that?A

ndhow

longw

illI

haveto

wait

thistim

e?A

year?

Tw

oyears?

Madness,

Ilove

Billy.

Iw

anth

imio

me.

Not

rottingin

Long

Kesh.

Moses:

Have

youtold

himth

at?M

rsC

astle:Y

oucan’t

talkto

Billy

abo

ut

politics.It’s

agam

eto

him.

I’mgetting

tiredof

games.

It’stim

ew

e

160

k

grewup.

Tim

ew

em

adea

bonfireof

theflags

andth

ebanners

andthe

stupidslogans.

Love

ofcountry

isone

thing,but

when

all’ssaid

anddone,

we’re

stillbones

un

der

thesoil

(Pause)

I’msorry.

Isuppose

youth

ink

that’sjust

wom

an’stalk?

Moses:

Iread

somew

hereonce

ofa

groupof

wom

enw

horefused

togo

tobed

with

theirhusbands

untilthey’d

givenup

fighting.M

rsC

astle:W

ouldn’tw

orkin

thiscountry.

There’s

notan

Irishman

alivew

how

ouldn’tw

alkover

tennaked

wom

ento

reacha

bottleof

stout.M

oses:Y

ou’rew

asted,M

rsC

astle.If

youw

eren’tm

ar

riedto

Billy

I’dgo

foryou

myself.

Mrs

Castle:

No,

youw

ouldn’t.If

Ilove

Billy,

youlove

that

Merry-G

o-Round.

You’re

tiedto

it.Y

oucan’t

getaw

ayany

more

that

therest

ofus.

Moses:

You

may

beright.

Mrs

Castle:

I’malw

aysright.

Trouble

is,no

oneever

listensto

me.

Moses:

I’mlistening.

Mrs

Castle:

You

want

totake

that

Merry-G

o-Round

andset

fireto

it.It’s

not

areal

Merry-G

o-Round.

You

knowth

at.It’s

afantasy.

Som

ethingyou

dreamed

up.T

here’sno

truth

inthat.

Burn

it.P

ouroil

overit

andburn

it.M

oses:It

would

belike

burningm

yself.M

rsC

astle:Y

es(S

herises

toher

feet)W

ell,th

ank

sfor

thed

rink

Moses:

You

leaving?M

rsC

astle:I’m

goingto

seeB

illy.T

heyw

on’tlet

me

in,but

Ican

standthere

andm

akenoises.

That

shouldupset

someone.

Moses:

Good

luck,M

rsC

astle—

(sheexits)

—A

ndgive

my

regardsto

Sergeant

Blanche.

(He

stands

therelooking

afterher

fora

mom

entand

thenlooks

atthe

Merry-G

o-R

ound.H

espins

itro

un

d;

stop

sit

asthe

faceof

Sergeant

Blanche

appears.)

Moses:

Sergeant

Blanche.

The

faceth

atlaunched

ath

ousan

dquips.

(He

peersat

some

notesw

rittenun

derneath.)B

lanche.S

pecialB

ranch.L

ovesIreland.

Loves

God.

Loves

theL

aw.

(Pause)

Iw

onderin

wh

ato

rder?

(Exit

Moses

asS

ergeantB

lancheen

tersand

sings.)

161

Sergeant

Blanche:

om

ynam

eis

Sergeant

Blanche

Bless

youall

om

ynam

eis

Sergeant

Blanche

Bless

youall

om

ynam

eis

Sergeant

Blanche

And

I’min

theS

pecialB

ranchI

cansing

andI

candance

Bless

youall.

I’mthe

Terro

rof

theF

allsB

lessyou

allI’m

theT

error

ofthe

Falls

Bless

youall

I’mthe

Terro

rof

theF

allsI

cancreep

inthrough

thew

allsA

ndI’ve

neverlost

me

ballsB

lessyou

all.

Idrag

oldm

enfrom

theirbeds

Bless

youall

Idrag

oldm

enfrom

theirbeds

Bless

youall

Idrag

oldm

enfrom

theirbeds

Ilook

undern

eathfor

Reds

And

Ibreak

theirbloody

headsB

lessyou

all.

Though

youcall

me

“Fascist

Pig”

Bless

youall

Though

youcall

me

“Fascist

Pig”

Bless

youall.

Though

youcall

me

“Fascist

Pig”

Iju

stsm

ileand

dancea

jig(Y

oudon’t

mean

it—

Iknow

thatl)

Bless

youall.

oyou’ll

miss

me

when

I’vegone

Bless

youall

oyou’ll

miss

me

when

I’vegone

Bless

youall

oyou’ll

miss

me

when

I’vegone

With

abullet

ora

bomb

And

Ith

ink

itw

on’tbe

longB

LE

SSY

OU

AL

L!

(Blackout)

ME

RR

Y-G

o-RO

UN

DE

LE

VE

N

The

lightrises

ona

roomin

thepolice

barracks.B

illyC

astleis

sittingon

achair

infront

ofthe

desk.S

tand

ingbolt

uprightagainst

thew

allis

Constable

Ham

mond.

Billy:

Hey,

Laughing

Boy!

How

longm

oredo

Ihave

tow

aithere?

Sergeant

Blanche

saidhalf

anhour.

(No

responsefrom

Ham

mond)

When

Ileave

hereI’m

goingto

buym

yselfa

bazooka.A

lways

wanted

abazooka.

Don’t

knowhow

I’vem

anagedw

ithoutone.

(To

Ham

mond)

Am

anshould

always

havea

bazooka,It

makes

himfeel

wanted.

(Still

noresponse

fromH

amm

ond)G

oodjob

I’mB

ritish.A

man

couldget

worried

ina

placelike

this.(T

oH

amm

ond)E

verbeen

toS

outhA

frica?(P

ause)B

razil?T

hey’recrying

out

forpolicem

enout

there.D

yinglike

flies.(H

esings.)

Billy:I

was

bornunder

aU

nionJack

Iw

asborn

undera

Union

JackD

oyou

knoww

hereH

ellis?

Hell

isup

theF

alls.H

eaven’sin

theS

hankillA

ndG

od’son

Derry

Walls,

Iw

asborn

undera

Union

Jack

(Sergeant

Blanche

enters.H

ecarries

afo

lder

underhis

armand

looksw

orld-weary.)

Blanche:

God

saveall

here.B

lessyou,

Billy.

Sorry

tohave

kep

tyou

waiting.

Has

Constable

Ham

mond

beenlooking

afteryou?

Billy:

Like

my

own

mother,

Serg

eant

Blanche:

(Sitting

athis

desk)I’m

glad.I’ve

gotgreat

faithin

Constable

Ham

mond.

Great

faithin

youtoo,

Billy.

Still

inthe

UV

F?

Billy:

Never

heardof

it.B

lanche:Y

ou’renot

goingto

bedifficult,

Billy?

I’mnot

aw

ellm

an.B

illy:I’m

sorryto

hearthat,

Blanche:

Nobody’s

sorry.I

day.I’ve

gotpains

inm

ynot

well

Billy.

Billy:

Have

youtried

vitamins?

Blanche:

I’vetried

everything,B

illy.B

utit’s

co

-op

en

tionI

want.

You

andm

eare

onthe

same

side.B

illy:W

hatside

isthat,

Sergeant?

163162

Sergeant.go

thro

ug

hagonies

everyback.

Pains

inm

ylegs.

I’m

L.

TB

lanche:(P

ushinga

sheet

ofpaper

acrossto

Billy)

Iw

antyou

tosign

this.B

illy:W

hatis

it?B

lanche:A

statemen

tof

youractivities.

Signit.

Billy:

Can’t

write.

Blanche:

Read

itfirst.

Billy:

Can’t

read.B

lanche:Y

ou’reupsetting

me,

Billy.

Billy:

(Taking

as1ip

ofpaper

fromhis

pocketand

pla

cing

iton

thedesk).

That’s

my

solicitor’snam

e.T

hat’shis

telephonenum

ber.B

lanche:B

illy!

Billy:

Mi

furth

erquestions

tobe

written

down.

No

answers

tobe

givenuntil

my

solicitorhas

checkedthe

questions.U

nder

Section

Ten

ofthe

Em

ergencyP

rovisionsA

ctyou

canhold

me

forseventy-tw

ohours.

After

that,you’d

better

(Constable

Ham

mond

kicksthe

chairout

fromunder

Billy

—B

illylands

onthe

floor.)B

illy:(O

nthe

floor)A

noth

erthing—

Iw

antto

bem

edic

allyexam

inedby

my

own

doctor.N

oneof

your

army

policequacks.

Blanche:

Get

up,B

illy.(B

illyrises

tohis

feet,H

amm

ondplaces

thechair

under

him.)

Billy:

(To

Ham

mond)

Thank

you(T

oB

lanche).Y

ouused

todo

yourow

nkicking.

What’s

happenedto

you?B

lanche:I’m

tiredB

illy.P

eoplelike

youare

wearing

me

out.I

thoughtyou

andm

eunderstood

eachother?

Billy:

We

do.B

lanche:Y

ou’renot

beingnice,

Billy.

Ihave

allthe

proofI

needto

put

youaw

ayfor

along

time.

Ihave

statemen

tsfrom

yourso-called

friendsB

illy:F

orgeries.B

lanche:R

ecordsof

telephonecalls

Billy:

Faked.

Blanche:

And

witnesses,

Billy.

Billy:

Liars

—or

beatenup

byyou

—th

reatened

orintim

idated.B

lanche:B

illy!B

illy:Im

breakingyour

heart.I

knowth

at..

Blanche:

You

are.I’d

kickyou

ifI

could,but

I’mexhausted.

Billy:

He’s

not

doingso

bad.B

lanche:I’ve

trainedhim

well.

Signth

estatem

ent.

Billy:

No.

(Ham

mond

againkicks

thechair

outfrom

un

der

Billy.

Billy

landson

thefloor.)

Billy:

(To

Ham

mond)

You

realisethis

couldget

mon

otonous.B

lanche:G

etup,

Billy.

Billy:

Iw

antm

ysolicitor.

Blanche:

We’ll

getyou

one.B

illy:I

want

my

own.

Not

oneof

yourshyster

lawyers.

Blanche:

Billy—

ifI

wasn’t

atruly

religiousperson

I’dsw

earat

you.G

ET

UP

!B

illy:W

ouldyou

mind

askingL

aughingB

oyhere

totake

hisfoot

offm

yhand?

Blanche:

(To

Ham

mond)

Constable—

remove

thefoot.

(Ham

mond

doesso.

Billy

risesto

hisfeet.

Ham

mond

placesthe

chair

un

der

him.)

Billy:

(To

Ham

mond)

Than

kyou.

Blanche:

Billy

—I’m

gettingall

tensedup.

Ican

feelit

happening.W

e’llbegin

again.B

illy:W

henI’ve

seenm

ysolicitor.

When

I’veseen

my

doctor.A

ndw

hen(H

amm

ondis

abo

ut

tokick

thech

airagain)

Ah.

Naughty!

Ham

mond:

Full

ofw

ind,aren’t

you,B

illy.B

illy:(T

oB

lanche)H

espoke!

Blanche:

Billy

—I

tooktw

oaspirins

beforeI

came

here.T

heyhaven’t

donem

ea

bit

ofgood.

Billy:

Ifhe

speaksagain

—get

adoctor.

He’ll

hu

rthim

self.B

lanche:Y

ou’renot

listening,B

illy.B

illy:I’m

listening!B

lanche:(A

ftera

pause)Sign

thestatem

ent.B

illy:N

o.B

lanche:C

onstable—

kickhim

.I

want

youto

kickhim

.T

UC

KH

IM!

Billy:

Police!

(Blackout)

ME

RR

Y-G

O.R

0UN

DT

WE

LV

E

Spotlight

onH

amm

ond

Ham

mond:

Itsfunny

howthey

come

in—

fullof

wind

andbounce.

They

don’tgo

outthat

way.

Isee

toth

at,T

heytalk.

Give

statements.

Make

lists.T

hat’sthe

joy

164165

ofthe

Irish.W

aydow

n,deep

inthe

gut,they

allw

antto

talk.I

readhistory.

Along

lineof

rebellions.—

andalw

aysthe

betrayal.T

hebig

mouth

(Pause)

People

sayI

enjoym

yw

ork.T

heysay

that

theS

er

geantand

Ihave

some

kindof

specialrelationship.

There’s

notru

thin

that.

The

Sergeant

ism

yS

uperiorO

fficer.I

respecthim

.I

likethe

way

hew

alks.T

hew

ayhe

behaveshim

selfin

public.It’s

noteasy

beinga

policeman,

especiallyin

Belfast.

There’s

anelem

enthere

that

will

accuseyou

ofanything.

(Pause)

Ihave

nopeculiar

tendencies.I

was

tenyears

inthe

Boy

Scouts

andonly

oncew

asI

accusedof

anythinglike

that.T

heboy

was

afool.

He

laterw

ithdrewthe

charge.(P

ause)I

lovem

yco

untry

Ido

my

jobbe

causeI

haveto

doit.

And

ifI

kickpeople

it’sb

ecause

Iw

antinform

ation—

nothingelse.

(Pau

se)W

henall

thisis

overI’m

goingto

leavethis

place.G

oto

South

Africa,

maybe.

Icould

lieon

thebeach.

Watch

peoplesw

imm

ing.(P

ause)T

here’snothing

wrong

with

watching

peoplesw

imm

ingl

(Blackout)

ME

RR

Y-G

o-RO

UN

DT

hIR

TE

EN

TH

EM

AS

SA

GE

PA

RL

OU

R

Sergeant

Blanche,

wearing

dark

glasses,is

lyingface

down

onthe

couch.T

helow

erp

artof

hisbody

isco

vered

bya

sheet.M

issF

airchildis

givinghim

am

assage.

Blanche

:P

ressharder,

Miss

Fairchild.

I’vehad

ahard

dayat

thebarracks.

Fairch

ild:

I’mpressing,

Mr.

Blanche.

Blanche:

Sergeant,

ifyou

please.I

haven’tspent

twenty

yearsin

theS

pecialB

ranchfor

nothing.I

feelI’ve

earnedthose

stripes.F

airchild

:It

must

bekilling

work.

Blanche

:It

is,M

issF

airchild.M

ylegs

achefrom

kic

king

people.F

airchild

:I

supposeyou

haveto

doth

at

Blanche

There’s

nooth

erw

ay.I’m

notdealing

with

normal

people.T

hey’repolitical.

You

can’ttalk

topeople

likethat.

They

haveto

bekicked.

Fairchild:

We’d

belost

with

out

you,S

ergeant.

166

Blanche

:P

eoplesay

I’ma

Fascist,

Miss

Fairchild.

Fairchild

:You

were

neverthat.

Blanche

:Y

ou’dbe

surprisedat

them

indsof

people.N

ow

onderI’m

alltensed

up.F

airchild:

You

rm

usclesare

goneto

Hell.

Blanche

:Y

ouw

ouldn’tm

indif

thesethings

were

truebut

Ihate

Fascism

.I’m

areligious

person.M

ym

otherw

ork

edfor

theS

istersof

Charity

.F

airchild:

Iw

asb

rou

gh

tup

ina

conventm

eseif.B

lanche:

Ican

seeth

at.Y

ouhave

thehands

ofa

nun.F

airchild:

Ipray

daily.Is

thisyour

firstvisit

toa

massage

parlo

ur?

Blanche

:T

othis

particu

larone,

yes.I’ve

beento

othersof

course.B

utI

wasn’t

happy.I

didn’tget

there

leaseI

required.F

airchild:

Are

yougetting

itnow

,S

ergeantB

lanche?B

lanche:

I’lltell

youlater.

Fairchild

:W

ouldyou

likem

eto

undress?B

lanche:

Ibeg

yourp

ardo

n?

Fairchild

:I

haveto

ask.It’s

part

ofm

yjob.

Blanche

Iappreciate

that.

No

offenceto

you,M

issF

airchild,bu

tth

esight

ofa

nak

edw

oman

appalsm

e.A

sa

matter

offact,

nakednessof

anykind

sendsm

einto

aw

eakness.F

airchild:

Even

yourow

n?B

lanche:

Look,

Miss

Fairchild,

when

Ienter

thebath

roomI

wear

darkglasses.

I’mw

earingthem

now.

You

cansee

that.

Fairch

ild:

Ithought

youw

ereju

stbeing

kinky.B

lanche:

Kinky

hasnothing

todo

with

it.It’s

aques

tionof

religion.I’m

totally

opposedto

thenaked

form.

Itshould

neverhave

beencreated.

(Pause)

How

much

doyou

charge?F

airchild:

Ido

itfo

rlove,

really.B

lanche:

Of

course.A

ndso

doI,

Miss

Fairchild,

III

didn’tI

wouldn’t

bein

thecondition

I’min.

Fairchild

:Y

ouhave

noidea

ofthe

pleasureit

givesm

eeasing

thetensions

ofim

portan

tpeople

likeyourself.

Blanche

:Y

ou’rea

wonder,

Miss

Fairchild.

But

howm

uch?F

airchild:

Sixpounds

ifI

takem

ebra

off.E

ightif

Itake

me

stockingsoff

asw

ell.A

ndten

poundsif

Idish

thelot.

Blanche

:It

soundsfair

andreasonable,

Miss

Fairchild.

Dish

thelot,

Fairchild

:W

hatab

ou

tyour

glasses?A

reyou

going

167

C.,

tokeep

themon?

Blanche

:C

ertainlyI

Fairchild

:B

utyou

won’t

seenothing.

Blanche

:It

isnot

necessary,M

issF

airchild.I

haveno

wish

tosee

youin

theflesh.

Fairchild

:Y

ou’regoing

toim

agineit?

Blanche

:Im

aginationis

aw

onderfulthing,

Miss

Fair

child.P

roceed.F

airchild

:Jesus

I(F

airchildstan

ds

with

herback

tothe

wall,

pickingher

teeth.S

hem

akesno

move

toundress.)

Blanche

:A

reyou

undressing,M

issF

airchild?F

airchild

:M

ebra

isoff.

Blanche

:C

arryon

—but

slowly,

please,M

issF

airchild.F

airchild:(A

ftera

pause)F

mtaking

me

stockingsoff,

now.

Blanche

What

colourare

they?F

airchild:

Black.

Blanche

:E

xcellen

t(P

ause)A

reyou

nakednow

?F

airchild:

To

the

bone.I’m

coveredin

goose-pimples.

Blan

che:

It’sa

coldnight,

Miss

Fairchild,

Fairchild

:It’s

bitter

outside.B

lanche:

You

needan

electricfire

inthis

room.

Fairch

ild:

I’veasked

themtw

ice.T

heyw

on’tpay

forit

Blanche

:P11

buyyou

one.F

airchild:

It’svery

kindof

you.It’s

not

oftenI

meet

aperson

soreligious.

Blanche

Itcom

esfrom

my

mother.

She

was

asaint.

Idetect

atouch

ofthe

saintin

you,M

issF

airchild.F

airchild:

Ido

me

best.W

ouldyou

liketo

turn

overnow

,and

I’lldo

yourfro

nt?

Blanche:

By

allm

eans.(H

etu

rns

over.)C

arefulnow

,M

issF

airchild.C

ontrolyourself.

Fairch

ild:

It’svery

difficultw

ithsuch

ahandsom

em

anas

yourself.B

lanche:

Iunderstan

dth

at

But

youm

ust

try,M

issF

airchild.F

airchild:I’m

trying.B

lanche:

May

God

forgivem

e.F

airchild:

He

will.

He’ll

forgiveus

all,S

erv

ant

(The

lightbegins

tofade,

ci!he

singssoftly,

andw

ithinfinite

sadness.)B

lanch

e:L

ookfor

thesilver

liningW

heneverclouds

appearin

theblue.

168

Rem

ember

somew

herethe

sunis

shiningA

ndth

atthe

rightthing

todo...

isbanish

sorroww

ithtears

ofgladness

And

thenthe

sunw

illcom

einto

viewSo

always

lookfor

thesilver

liningA

ndthen

thesun

will

always

followyou

(His

voicefades

butthe

music

iscarried

overto

fourm

encarrying

acoffin

acrossthe

stage.T

heyexit.

And

thisis

followed

bya

seriesof

stillphotographs

projectedon

toa

screen.T

heyare

thefaces

ofthe

peopleof

Bel

fast,know

nand

unknown.

The

shocked,grieved

andinjured

facesof

peoplecaught

upin

thebom

bings,etc.

The

music

continlies,

andfades.)

ME

RR

Y-G

O-R

OU

ND

FO

UR

TE

EN

Inthe

darkness,the

voicesof

theprisoners

inL

ongK

esh.S

earchlightssw

eepingover

theC

amp.

Hush!

Long

Kesh!

Hush!

Long

Kesh!

Hush!

Long

Kesh!

Let

my

peoplego.

(The

lightrises

onthe

prisoners.T

heyare

standingin

linefacing

theaudience.

They

claphands

asthey

sing.)

Standing

inline

Standing

inline

Standing

inline

Let

my

peoplego.

Dark

inL

ongK

esh(E

verybodynow

)D

arkin

Long

Kesh

Dark

inL

ongK

eshL

etm

ypeople

go.

Orange

andG

reenO

rangeand

Green

(Let

themall

out)O

rangeand

Green

Let

my

peoplego

I

169

t.

Burning

Long

Kesh

Burning

Long

Kesh

Burning

Long

Kesh

Let

my

peoplego.

Blow

ingth

ew

indB

lowing

thew

indB

lowing

the

wind

Let

my

peoplego.

Stand

upand

shoutStand

upand

shout

Stand

upand

shout

Let

my

peoplego

(The

lightbegins

tofade.)

Hush!

Long

Kesh

Hush!

Long

Kesh

Hush!

Long

Kesh

Let

my

peopleg

o.

(Fade

todarkness.

And

thenthe

lightrises

ontw

ogroups

ofprisoners,

sittingon

oppositesides

ofthe

stage.S

tageright

:R

ooney,G

ormley

andO

’Brien.

They

areplaying

cards.S

tageleft

:B

illyC

astleand

two

oth

erL

oyalistP

risoners.B

illyis

writing

aletter.

He

leansback

andsings

softly.)

Billy

:Met

my

lovein

Belfast

town

Walked

my

loveby

the

Lagan

streamH

eardthe

soundof

thenight

onfire

Burning

the

town

—B

urningthe

town.

(The

lightrises

onM

rsC

astle.dow

nstage,as

iflistening

tosings.)

Mrs

Castle:

Took

my

heart

toth

eL

aganstream

%L

aidit

down

where

we

learnedto

dreamH

eardthe

cryof

thebabe

unbornB

urningthe

town

—B

urningthe

town.

Billy

andM

rsC

astle:0

loveis

coldin

Belfast

town

(The

lightfades

onM

rsC

astleand

risesfully

onthe

prisoners.)

Trees

don’tgrow

andthe

raindon’t

fallS

tarsdon’t

shineon

theL

aganstream

Burning

thetow

n—

Burning

thetow

n.B

illy:Lost

my

dreamin

aprison

cellM

rsC

astle:L

ostm

yheart

ona

barbed-wire

fenceB

oth

:Lost

my

lovein

thefire

andstorm

Burning

thetow

n—

Burning

thetow

n.B

illy:Take

my

handfrom

theprison

wall

Mrs

Castle:

Take

my

heart

fromthe

barbed-wire

fenceB

oth

:Take

my

loveand

thebabe

unbornB

urningth

etow

n—

burningthe

town.

0love

iscold

inB

elfasttow

nT

reesdon’t

growand

therain

don’tfall

Stars

don’tshine

onthe

Lagan

streamB

urningthe

town

—B

urningthe

town

Burning

thetow

n.

She

standsB

illy.S

he

O’B

rien:

Hey!

Billy.

Billy:

What

isit,

O’B

rien?O

’Brien

:N

iceto

seeyou

backagain.

We’ve

missed

you.R

oo

ney

:I

hav

en’t

Billy

:J

seeyou’ve

stillgot

“The

Happiness

Boys”

with

you.R

ooney:(T

oG

ormley)

Ishe

talkingab

ou

tus?

Gorm

ley:

Ignorehim

.O

’Brien

:I

coulddo

with

afew

months

onthe

outside,m

yself,B

illy.W

hat’sit

like?B

illy:

All

thebetter

with

youlo

tinside.

Rooney:

You’ll

learnone

day.B

rit-Vic.

First

Loyalist

Prisq

ner:

Not

fromyou

we

won’t

Rooney

:G

oback

toyour

prayers,you.

(To

Gorm

ley)Y

ouknow

Iw

asreading

abook

today...

First

Loyalist

Priso

ner:

Ha

Rooney

:.

..

andit

saidabout

howsom

eanim

alshave

abackbone

andothers

hav

en’t

Gorm

ley:

YaW

?

171170

A

Rooney

:W

ell,O

rangieshaven’t.

O’B

rien:

Easy,

lads.W

e’vegot

enoughproblem

sin

herew

ithout

youtw

ostirring

itup.

Billy

:T

ime

youkep

tthose

poofsof

yoursin

order,C

omm

ander.O

’Brien

:S

ame

toyou,

Billy,

(Pause.

They

continuew

iththeir

game

ofcards.)

Billy

:C

omm

ander.O

’Brien

:W

hatis

it,B

illy?B

illy:Y

ougoing

tosee

theG

overnortom

orrow?

O’B

rien:

Yes.

Billy

:L

et’sco-ordinate

ourcom

plaints.W

e’vegot

ourshare

overhere.

Rooney

:L

ikew

hat?N

oorange

juicetoday?

Billy

:T

astedlike

holyw

ater.(T

oO

’Brien)

We’ll

meet

incage

threeab

out

ten.O

K?

O’B

rien:

Fair

enough,B

illy.B

illy:

And,

Com

mander,

we

co-operateon

thisone

issueonly.

O’B

rien:

Ifthat’s

howyou

want

it,B

illy.B

illy:W

hat’sthe

main

gripe?O

’Brien

:F

ood.B

utthe

roofleaks

andw

e’rea

bit

short

ofblankets.(P

ause)B

illy:

We’ve

gota

fewspare

blanketsover

hereif

youw

ant

them.

Rooney

:I

won’t

sleepunder

aL

oyalistblan

ket

First

Loyalist

Priso

ner

You

will

oneday,

Chum

,w

itha

bullet

inyour

head.O

’Brien

:W

e’lltake

theblankets,

Billy.

And

thanks.B

illy:

Com

ingover.

(He

thro

ws

theblankets

across.)O

’Brien

:A

nythingw

ecan

dofor

you?B

illy:

Have

youever

thoughtabout

emigrating?

O’B

rien:

No,

thanks.B

utit’s

visitingday

tomorrow

.W

ecould

startby

sharingfood

parcels.B

illy:N

ot

on,C

omm

ander,T

hanksall

thesam

e.I

nevercould

standR

epublicanhash.

O’B

rien:

We’re

allin

forthe

same

thing,B

illy.B

illy:

Nam

eit.

O’B

rien:

Ireland.Y

oulove

itand

we

iov

itW

e’vegot

toget

togethersom

etime.

Billy

:G

oodnight,C

omm

ander.O

’Brien

‘Night,

Billy.

(Pause)

Billy

:C

omm

ander.

172

O’B

rien:

Yes,

Billy.

I’mlistening.

Billy

:We’ve

gota

longw

ayto

go.O

’Brien

:I

know.

Billy

:D

oyou

know“T

heR

ightsof

Man”?

O’B

rien:

Brought

upon

it,B

illy.(H

esings)

As

Iw

asw

alkingthrough

Belfast

cityO

neb

righ

tclear

morning

inthe

month

ofJune

With

nodissension

andloyal

intentionI

was

deprivedof

therights

ofm

an.

This

North

ernC

ityis

notso

pretty

When

viewed

fromH

eavenor

aprison

vanB

utthough

Itrem

ble,I’ll

nodissem

bleB

utproudly

callfor

therights

ofm

an.

Incarcerated

inprison

cagesN

otrial

tom

entionand

nosentence

passedW

ithsentries

guardingand

dogsthere

barkingW

ebid

farewell

tothe

rightsof

man.

(Billy

joinsin

thesong.)

But

Com

radeslisten

tow

hatI

tellyou

The

dawn

isbreaking

andthe

nightis

overT

hisgrim

diso

rder

calledlaw

andorder

Will

soongive

way

tothe

rightsof

man.

(The

lightfades

onthe

camp.)

ME

RR

Y-G

O-R

OU

ND

FIF

TE

EN

The

lightrises

onM

oses.H

eis

sitting

near

theM

erry.G

o’Round,

readinga

newspaper.

Dow

nstage,right

andleft,

Mrs

Ellis

andM

rsR

yan.T

heyare

stillknitting.

The

‘garments’

nowm

uchlonger

andtrailing

onto

thefloor.

Moses

turn

sover

thepage

andsings

softlyto

himself.

Moses

:(S

inging)

Oro!

sédo

bheatha‘bhaile

Ord!

sédo

bheathabhaile

173

L..

Ore!

sédo

bheatha‘bhaile

IA

noisar

theach

tan

tsamhraidh,

Sedo

bh

eathal

abhean

haléanm

harlB

’éar

gcréachtü

bheithI ngeibhinn,

Do

dhuichebhreá

iseilbh

méirleach

‘Stü

dioltaleis

naG

allaibh.

(He

continuesto

readhis

newspaper.

Pause.)

Mrs

Ryan

:If

onlyshe’d

saysom

ething.M

rsE

llis:

IfI

kneww

hatto

say.M

rsR

yan:It’s

hardnow

.M

rsE

llis:

Difficult.

Mrs

Ryan

:A

fterall

thistim

e,you

can’tgo

upto

someone

andsa

y...

Mrs

Ellis

:(T

oherself)

Mrs

Ryan.

(Pause.

Moses

looksat

themfor

am

oment.

Shakes

hishead.

Looks

athis

newspaper.)

Moses

:I

seeth

atthe

Arts

Council

areorganising

poetryreadings

atL

ongK

esh.T

hat

shouldsolve

afew

pro

blem

s.(H

ums

afew

barsof

thesong.

Stops

ashe

comes

acrossan

oth

eritem

ofnew

sin

thepaper.)

Dublin

Governm

entclaim

sjurisdiction

overall

Jrishw

aters.T

heR

ev.Ian

Paisley

declareshe

will

not

takehis

usualw

alkon

thew

ater.(P

ause)G

erryF

ittw

illdo

itinstead.

(He

sings.)T

aG

ráinneM

haolag

teachtth

arsáile,

Oglaigh

armth

alei

mar

ghardaG

aeiliad

féin‘s

GaU

lna

Spáinnigh,

‘Scuirfid

ruaigag

Ghallaibh.

(Pause.

He

turnsthe

page.)

Mrs

Ryan

:K

nitting.M

rsE

llis:

Sitting.

Mrs

Ryan

: Noth

ing

todo.

Mrs

Ellis

The

cradleshave

gone.(M

oseslooks

atthem

.)M

oses:

Ladies

—all

youhave

todo

isreach

out.(P

ause.N

oresponse.

He

shakeshis

news-

Mrs

Ellis:

Pulling

threads.M

rsR

yan:

Wool.

Mrs

Ellis

:Needles.

Mrs

Ryan

:‘W

hydoesn

tshe

speakfirst?

Mrs

Ellis:

Mrs

Ryan.

(Pause.

They

lookat

eachoth

erfor

am

oment.

Look

away

again.M

osesgoes

backto

hisnew

spaper.M

rsC

astleenters.)

Moses

:H

ub

,M

rs.C

astle.D

idyou

manage

tosee

Billy?

Mrs

Castle

:T

heyw

ouldn’tlet

usin.

All

visitscancelled

untilfu

rther

notice.H

aveyou

anyof

that

boozeleft?

Moses

:(N

oddingtow

ardsthe

bottle)H

elpyourself.

Mrs

Castle

:W

hat’shappened

toyou

—broken

arm?

Mo

ses:S

orry.(H

ehands

herthe

bottle)M

rsC

astle:

Thanks.

(She

sits)W

estood

therefor

anhour

andthen

decidedto

throwthe

foodparcels

overthe

wire.

Mo

ses:G

oodfor

you.M

rsC

astle:

Any

news

inth

atpaper?

Mo

ses:T

heP

opeis

worried.

Mrs

Castle

:T

hat’sa

comfort.

(She

drinks)(P

ause)M

rsR

yan:

Watched

herin

thestreet

thism

orning.M

rsE

llis:

Saw

hertalking

tothe

neighbours.M

rsR

yan:

Thought

about

thefuneral

then.M

rsE

llis:

Thought

abo

ut

death.(P

ause)M

rsC

astle:

Mrs

Ryan.

Mrs

Ryan

:Y

es,M

rsC

astle?M

rsC

astle:S

orryfor

yourtrouble.

You

too,M

rsE

llis.E

llisand

Ryan

:(T

ogether)T

hankyou.

Mrs

Castle

:(T

oM

oses)T

hereused

tobe

asoldier

onduty

there.W

hathappened

tohim

?M

oses:

Charlie?

He

was

shot.M

rsC

astle:

Are

theygoing

toreplace

him?

Mo

ses:T

heyalw

aysdo.

Cannon

fodderis

cheap.M

rsC

astle:

Beautiful

day,M

rsE

llis.M

rsE

llis:

Very

nice.M

rsC

astle:

(To

Moses)

Ifeel

sorryfor

thosetw

o.M

oses:

Why?

Mrs

Castle

:T

hey’redying

totalk

toeach

oth

erand

can’t.M

oses:

Nothing

stoppingthem

but

love.M

rsC

astle:

Would

youlike

adrink,

Mrs

Ellis?

Mrs

Ellis

:D

on’tdrink.

Mrs

Castle

:H

owab

ou

tyou,

Mrs

Ryan?

Mrs

Ryan

Mrs

Ellis:

Mrs

Ryan

Mrs

Ellis:

Mrs

Ryan

paper.)E

asyfor

peopleto

talk.E

asyto

say“G

ettogether.”

All

my

lifesitting

here.K

nitting.T

hinking.

174175

I

-A

Mrs

Ryan

:N

o.(Pause)

Ryan

andE

llis:(T

ogether)T

hankyou

allthe

same,

Mrs

Castle.(T

heylook

ateach

other.L

ookaw

ay.)

Mrs

Castle

:(To

Moses)

It’slike

watching

atennis

match.

(Pause)

Mrs

Ryan:

(Looking

ather

knitting)It’s

finishednow

.M

rsE

llis:

Tim

eI

was

goingin.

Mrs

Castle

: (To

Moses)

Excuse

me

fora

mom

ent.(S

hegoes

overand

tiesthe

two

endsof

theknittin

gtogether.

Retu

rns

toM

oses.)M

rsC

astle:

I.etthem

work

that

oneout

(Preparing

toleave,

Mrs

Ryan

andM

rsE

llisdraw

inth

eirknitting.

Pause.

They

pull.T

heytug.

They

lookat

eachother.)

Mrs

Ellis

:Would

youm

ind.

Mrs

Ryan

:L

ettinggo

my

knittin

g?

Mrs

Ellis:

Ibeg

yourpardon

IM

rsR

yan:

It’sm

ine.M

rsE

llis:A

reyou

speakingto

me?

Mrs

Ryan

:It’s

my

knittin

gyou’ve

gotthere.

Mrs

Ellis:

It’snothing

ofthe

sort.M

oses:L

adiesM

rsE

llis:

(To

Moses)

Mind

yourow

nbusiness,

you.M

oses:

Iw

asonly

Mrs

Ellis

:Y

ouhave

noright

tointerfere

between

neighbours.M

rsR

yan:

Quite

right.T

hecheek

ofsom

epeople.

Mrs

Ellis:

You

were

saying,M

rsR

yan.M

rsR

yan:

After

you.M

rsE

llis:

I’msorry.

Mrs

Ryan

:M

yfau

ltM

rsE

llis:

Not

inthe

least.(L

ookingat

theto

nglcd

knitting.)C

anw

eundo

it?M

oses:

Can

Ihelp?

Mrs

Ryan

:W

ecan

manage

onour

own,

thankyu.

(To

Mrs

Ellis)

As

am

atterof

fact,I

thinkit

looks

better

the

way

itis,

Mrs

Ellis.

More

fashionable.

Mrs

Ellis

:I

agreeentirely.

This

kindof

thingis

allthe

ragenow

.W

ouldyou

liketo

come

infor

cup

oftea?

Mrs

Ryan

:I’d

bedelighted.

And

Icould

dow

itha

cup.M

rsE

llis:

We

cantalk

inside.Y

oucouldn’t

openyour

mouth

here.M

rsR

yan:

Spies.

176

Mrs

Ellis:

Whisp

ering..

Mrs

Ryan

:C

ausingtro

uble.

(They

move

offchatting

andtrailing

their

knittin

gbehind

them.)

Moses

:W

ell,M

rsC

astle—

that’syou

andm

eon

our

own.

Mrs

Castle

:N

ot

likely.I’m

goingto

jointhose

two

for

acuppa.

Moses:

Will

yoube

coming

back?M

rsC

astle: N

otfor

aw

hile.T

akecare,

Moses.

Moses

: You

too,M

rsC

astle.(M

rsC

astleleaves.

Moses

foldshis

new

s

paper,looks

heavenwards

.

Moses:

Lord

—m

aybethere’s

hopeyet.

(Sings)

We

arethe

peopleand

we

shallovercom

eF

reeth

epeople,

letthem

havetheir

say.F

reethe

people,let

themsee

lightof

day.(T

helight

fades.)

MER

RY

-GO

-RO

UN

DSIX

TEEN

inthe

darkness,the

voicesof

Mrs

Ryan,

Mrs.

Ellis

and

Mrs

Castle.

They

aresinging:

Bless

themall,

blessthem

allT

heP

rodsand

theT

aigsbig

andsm

allB

lessthem

atS

tormont

andD

ublinas

well

The

bravepoliticians

who

sentus

toH

ell

But

we’re

sayinggoodbye

tothem

allA

sback

toour

hovelsw

ecraw

l,T

hey’rebringing

starvatio

nto

thisbloody

nation

But

cheerup,

me

lads,bless

‘emall

(They

enter

drunk.M

rsR

yanand

Mn

Castle

areholding

upM

rsE

llis.T

heyco

n

tinuew

iththe

songfor

am

oment.)

Man’s

Voice

:(O

ff)H

eyyou!

Belt

up,dow

nthere.

Res

pectablepeople

atetry

ing

toget

some

sleep!

Mrs

Ellis

:B

eltup,

yourself

—ye

ignoran

tbigot!

Mrs

Castle

:T

hat’stelling

‘em,

Mrs.

Ellis.

Mrs

Ellis

: (To

Mrs

Ryan)

Am

Iright,

Kath

leen?

Mrs

Ryan

:S

tickin

gout.

Mrs

Ellis:

Bless

‘emall

-.

-

Man’s

Voice

:D

oyou

wan

tm

eto

callth

epolice?

Mrs

Ellis

:Y

oucall

thepolice.

Bring

‘emall

out.T

his

isa

Pro

testant

street.A

ndI’m

entitled

toin

div

idual

177

AL.

conscience.(T

oM

rsR

yan)A

mI

right,K

athleen?M

rsR

yan:

Sticking

out.M

rsE

llis:

There

youare

now.

And

IfI

want

tosing

I’llbloody

well

sing.M

rsC

astle:

Sing

up,M

rsE

llis.H

ump

thebegrudgers

IM

rsE

llis:(singing)

SayH

elloto

theP

roviesSay

Hello

toyour

friendsSay

Hello

tothe

Provies

And

Irelandw

illbe

saved(T

hereis

aloud

,ioiseas

ifsom

eonehas

thrown

something

atthem

.)M

rsE

llisM

issedM

rsC

astle:

Fascist

Mrs

Ryan

:W

hothe

helldoes

hethink

heis

—the

Pope?

Mrs

Ellis

:E

xactly.W

e’rehaving

noneof

that

non

sensehere.

And

youand

me

isgoing

tosing

‘The

Wars

ofB

elfast’.R

ight,K

athleen?M

rsR

yan

:S

tickingout!

Mrs

Ellis

:(to

Mrs

Castle)

You

too,H

annah.O

netw

o,three

!(T

heysing)

The

Wars

ofB

elfastS

ome

folksing

ofa

United

IrelandW

herethe

Prods

andthe

Catholics

joinA

ndsom

eof

theglories

ofthe

Union

That

were

forgedon

thebanks

ofthe

Boyne.

But

I’mgoing

tosing

ofan

IrelandW

itha

futureinstead

ofa

pastA

ndto

Hell

with

theP

opeand

King

William

And

thew

arsth

atw

efought

inB

elfast.C

horu

s:O

toH

ellw

iththe

Pope

andK

ingW

illiamA

ndthe

wars

that

we

foughtin

Belfast

And

tohell

with

theG

reenand

theO

rangeA

sw

erise

toa

nationat

last.

Inth

atbeautiful

Irelandthat’s

coming

We

will

walk

throughthe

streetw

ithout

fearA

ndthe

bomb

andthe

bulletw

illhave

vanishedL

ikethe

snowon

thebrig

ht

summ

erair.

Inour

hearts

we

will

cherishthe

mem

oryO

fthe

men

who

havedied

inB

elfastB

utour

eyesw

illbe

fixedupon

thefuture

As

we

riseto

anation

atkst.

Choru

s:O

toH

ellw

ithth

eP

opeand

King

William

And

thew

arsth

atw

efought

inB

elfastA

ndto

hellw

iththe

Green

andthe

Orange

As

we

riseto

anation

atlast.

(Sounds

ofpolice

carsarriving,

sirens,etc.

They

gooff.

Blackout.)

ME

RR

Y-G

O-R

OU

ND

SE

VE

NT

EE

N

Itis

lateat

night.M

oses,bottle

inhand,

enters

singing.

Moses:S

teadyon

youraim

with

thepetrol

bomb

Don’t

throwit,

son,till

thepeelers

come

We

arethe

Bogside

Men.

The

Specials

came

inbrow

nand

blackY

ourgranny

ranout

andthey

allran

backShe

married

theB

ogsideM

an.

Choru

s:W

e’reall

browned

offw

iththe

midnight

raidsIt’s

everym

anto

thebarricades

We

arethe

Bogside

Men.

For

ahouse,

they’lltell

youall

tosave

You’ll

geta

tent

ora

bloodycave

Inthe

Bogside.

Ihaven’t

achance

ofa

shirtor

coatT

hey’llbe

achange

when

Ispoil

me

votela

mthe

Bogside

Man.

Steady

onyour

aimw

iththe

petrolbom

bD

on’tthrow

it,son,

tillthe

peelerscom

eT

amthe

Bogside

Man.

(He

takesa

drinkfrom

thebottle

andgoes

andsits

nearthe

Merry-G

o-Round.)

Moses

:S

teadyon

youraim

with

thepetrol

bomb

(Pause.

He

peersinto

theshadow

s.)W

hatthe

hell!(P

ause)C

harlie?(A

Young

Soldier

appearsfrom

theshadow

s.)W

hatare

youdoing

there?

You

scared

0

178179

j

thew

itsout

ofm

e.P

rivateW

illiams

:I’m

sorry.M

oses:

You

haveno

businessstanding

therelike

that.ll’illia,n

s:I

was

toldto

keepin

theshadow

s.M

oses:

Who

toldyou?

William

s:

The

Sergeant.

Moses

:O

h.(P

ause)Y

ou’vecom

eto

takeC

harlie’splace.

William

s:

Charlie?

Moses:

Private

Evans.

He

was

shot.W

hat’syour

name?

William

s:

William

s.M

oses:

Anoth

erbloody

Welshm

an.W

ell,you

canrelax.

There’s

atruce

onat

them

oment.

William

s:

The

shootinghasn’t

stopped.M

oses:

ft’snot

meant

forsoldiers.

It’sH

olyW

eek.C

atholicsand

Prods

only.W

illiams

:S

ectarian?M

oses:

Aye.

All

donefor

thelove

ofG

od.M

oveinto

thelight.

(William

sdoes

so.)H

owold

areyou?

William

s:

Nineteen.

Moses:

Christ!

Iw

onderhow

longyou’re

goingto

last.W

ouldyou

likea

drink?W

illiams

:N

o.M

oses:

Well,

youw

on’tm

indif

Ido?

(He

drin

ks)

When

didyou

arrive?W

illiams

:T

hism

orning.O

nthe

Ferry.

Moses:

Did

youenjoy

yourtrip

?W

illiams

:No.

Iw

assick

allthe

way.

Moses

:Y

ou’llbe

alot

sickerbefore

youleave

here.W

illiams

:I

didn’tw

antto

come.

Ith

ought

we

were

goingto

theM

iddleE

astM

oses:

Isth

atw

hatthey

toldyou?

William

s:

Not

officially.It

was

justtalk

among

thelads.

You

knoww

hatit’s

likein

thearm

y.M

oses:

Idont.

(He

takesan

oth

erdrink

fromthe

bottle.)W

illiams

:A

reyou

tryingto

getdru

nk?

Moses

:Y

es.W

illiams

:W

hy?M

oses:

Well,

I’lltell

you,C

harlieW

illiams

:W

illiams.

Moses

:C

harlie4’ilIiam

s,T

’Villia,ns:

Griffith.

Moses:

Does

itm

atter?W

illiams

:It

matters

tom

e.If

I’mgoing

toget

killedI

want

my

rightnam

eon

theheadstone.

Iw

antpeople

toknow

is’hoI

am.

Moses:

They’ll

know.

Iprom

iseyou

faithfully.

180

William

s:

Am

anis

entitledto

hisproper

name.

How

would

youlike

someone

tow

rite“C

harlle”on

your

headstone?M

oses:

Iw

ouldn’tlike

itat

all.W

illiams

:W

ell,then.

People

thearm

ythey

cancall

youto

becalled

“Charlie”.

My

William

s.C

lear?M

oses:

Clear.

William

s:A

reyou

drunkyet?

Moses

:A

lmost.

William

s:I

thinkit’s

sillygetting

drunk.M

oses:

You

knowsom

ething,P

rivateG

riffithW

illiams

ofthe

British

Arm

yof

occupationin

North

ernIreland

—I

don’tthink

I’mgoing

tolike

youone

bit.W

illiams

:Y

oudon’t

inspirem

eeither.

Why

doyou

want

toget

dru

nk?

Moses:

Can

Itell

you?W

illiams:

Go

ahead.I’m

not

stoppingyou.

Moses

:B

ecause,P

rivateG

riffithW

illiams

(Looking

into

thebottle)

rightthere

atthe

bottomof

thisbottle

liesm

yfaith

inhum

annatu

reand

human

progress.

I’mtrying

torecapture

my

faith,m

yillusions,

Do

younunderstan

dw

hatI

mean?

William

s:N

o.M

oses:

Ididn’t

thinkyou

would.

Asoldier

hasno

need

offaith.

And

allhis

illusionsare

trappedin

thebarrel

ofa

gun.(P

ause)I

watched

two

wom

entoday.

They

hadn’tspoken

toeach

oth

erfor

years.B

ut,today,

theym

adeit.

They

actuallyreached

out

andtouched

eachother.

William

s:So?

Moses:

SoI

needfaith.

I’mtired

ofm

ylack

ofillusions.

William

s:Y

oucould

always

leave.M

oses:

Leave?

William

s:W

hynot?

Lots

ofpeople

havegot

out.M

oses:

And

thebest

ofU

lsterluck

tothem

!N

o,G

riffith,old

son.M

osesD

ockerstays

righthere.

And

soshould

therest

ofhis

people.If

anyoneis

goingto

leaveit

shouldbe

youlot.

Take

yourtanks

andguns

andyour

British

uniforms

andshove

offout

ofhere.

We

haveto

solveour

own

problems.

And

we

haveto

doit

inour

own

way.

William

s:

You

canbuy

me

atick

etany

time.

Moses:

You’ve

drainedthis

country

dry.N

ot

you,personally.

You’re

nothing.Just

onem

orebloody

iF

thinkbecause

you’rein

anything.I’m

notgoing

name

isP

rivateG

riffith

IL5’

Squaddie

who’s

beingused

tokeep

thepot

fromboil

ingover.

But

ithas

toblow

sometim

e,C

harlie.W

illiams:

My

name

isnot

Charlie.

Moses:

I’lltry

torem

ember

it.(T

hesound

ofgunshots

offlL

istento

it.It’s

noteasy

tohave

faith.T

heyhad

thenation

righthere

intheir

handsand

theysplit.

Divide.

Break

offinto

factions.A

ndfor

what?

Aprinciple

adying

man

wouldn’t

givedeath

to.A

ndw

hilethey’re

outthere

killingeach

oth

erthe

politiciansare

rubbingtheir

handsand

fallingover

eachoth

erto

maintain

power.

It’snot

easyto

havefaith.

There

isn’ta

politicianon

thisisland

who

wouldn’t

sellhis

own

moth

erfor

anextra

dayin

Parliam

entor

anod

fromD

ailE

ireann.T

ime

we

caughtourselves

on,C

harlie.T

ime

we

moved

offthis

flaming

Merry-G

o-Round.

Because

ifw

edon’t,

we’re

dead.A

ndI

haveno

wish

tobe

dead.F

or

areal

liveM

erry-Go-R

oundw

ithhorses

andm

usicand

laughterm

aybe.B

utnot

forthis.

This

isa

monster.

William

s:

Burn

itM

oses:

That’s

thesecond

time

someone

saidth

atto

me.

William

s:

(Throw

inga

boxof

matches

onthe

floor)H

ere—

strike

am

atchand

burnit.

Moses

:N

ow?

William

s:

Right

now.

(Pause.

Moses

picksup

thebox

ofm

atches.L

ooksat

William

s.O

pensthe

box.T

helight

beginsto

fade.In

thedark

am

atchis

struck.P

ause.A

ndthen

theflam

erising

behindthe

Merry-G

o-Round.)

ME

RR

Y-G

O-R

OU

ND

EIG

HT

EE

N

Moses

standingw

atchingthe

flames

risebehind

theM

erry-Go-R

ound.H

erem

oveshis

hat,holds

itagainst

hisbreast,

andsings:

Moses:T

ears,falling

likerain

Keep

out

therain,

easeout

thepain

Troubles

away,

Troubles

away

Troubles

away

fromm

e.

The

castw

anderon

tothe

stage.T

hepolicem

enlay

handcuffs

andbatons

onthe

burningM

erry-Go-R

ound.T

hesoldiers

laydow

ntheir

gunsand

thepeople

castflags,

slogancards,

etc.,on

tothe

fire.A

sthey

enter,they

singw

ithM

oses.

Cast

(Sing

ing

):Jails,

peoplein

jailsO

penthe

jails,let

inthe

sunT

roublesaw

ay,tro

ub

lesaw

ayT

roublesaw

ayfrom

me.

Guns,

bloodin

theS

treetP

eopleI

meet,

deadat

my

feetT

roublesaw

ay,T

roublesaw

ayT

roublesaw

ayfrom

me.

Wars

,soldiersin

wars

Planes

inthe

skies,burnin

gtheclouds

Troubles

away,

troublesaw

ayT

roublesaw

ayfrom

me.

Free,

letus

befree

To

walk

inthe

rain,to

dancein

thesun

Troubles

away,

trou

bles

away

Troubles

away,

away

fromm

e.

The

two

bombers,

Gorm

leyand

Rooney,

stepforw

ardand

beginth

eirsong

anddance

number.

The

restof

thecast

joinin

thefinale.

We’re

burningtrees

inthe

park,M

ama

We’re

settingfire

tothe

dark,M

ama

We

wouldn’t

doit

fora

lark,M

ama

We

doit

forlove.

We’re

plantingbom

bsby

thescore,

Mam

aIn

everyshop

andvillage

store,M

ama

We

onlyw

ishw

ecould

dom

ore,M

ama

We

doit

forlove.

You

mu

stadm

itth

atw

ecare,

Mam

aW

e’retaking

Irelandto

thefair,

Mam

aW

e’reshooting

rocketsin

theair,

Mam

aW

edo

itfor

love.

And

ifyou

diew

iththe

shock,M

ama

With

everybuilding

that

we

rock,M

ama

We’ll

seeyou

buriedin

yourfrock,

Mam

aW

edo

itfor

love.

r

Cast:

182183

U

You must admit that we care, MamaWe’re taking Jreland to the fair, MamaWe’re shooting rockets in the air, MamaWe do it for loveWe do it for loveWEDOITFORLOVE!

END OF PLAY

ADDITIONAL FINALE(As staged in the original Belfast prod

Cast. (Air: The Saints Go Marching In)I want to marchI Want to singI want to dance and blow my mindI want to leave old Belfast CityAnd never look behind.I’m spinning roundI’m spinning roundI’m on a losing Merry-Go-RoundI want to leave old Belfast CityIt’s falling to the ground.

And when the Saints go marching in0 when the Saints go marching inI want to be there with that numberWhen the Saints go marching in

It’s growing darkIt’s growing darkI want a sail, a moving barque0 can’t you hear that voice of thunderIt’s time to build the Ark.We’re moving outWe’re moving outI hear the people scream and shout.I want to leave old Belfast CityAnd join the human race.

But when the Saints go marching inO when the Saints go marching inI want to be there with that numberWhen the Saints go marching in.And when the sun begins to shineO when that sun begins to shineI’ll come back to Belfast CityAnd make that city mine.

iii 184

11