Publishing Guide

Upcoming Events

Galway | Anti-War / Imperialism

no events match your query!

New Events

no events posted in last week

Other Press

Anti-War / Imperialism

Gaza doctor grieves her nine children killed in Israeli strike 20:00 May 25 0 comments

British doctors working in Gaza describe territory as a ‘slaughterhouse’ 00:23 May 24 0 comments

Israeli sinks to even greater depths of depravity. Israeli drones lure Palestinians with crying chil... 21:39 Apr 18 0 comments

Israel Continues to Shoot Itself in the Foot 20:25 Dec 16 0 comments

Is the Gaza-Israel Fighting “A False Flag”? They Let it Happen? Their Objective Is “to Wipe Gaza Off... 00:48 Oct 21 1 comments

more >>

User Preferences

Feeds

Blog Feeds

Public Inquiry

Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland

Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

Will Europe Derail Miliband?s Climate Agenda? Tue Jun 03, 2025 09:00 | Ben Pile
Keir Starmer is cosying up to the EU just as green politics collapses across the continent. Will it give him the excuse he needs to put Ed Miliband and his Net Zero lunacy out of their misery, asks Ben Pile.
The post Will Europe Derail Miliband’s Climate Agenda? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

The Guardian?s Climate Cult: Fiona Harvey?s Latest Sermon on COP30 Tue Jun 03, 2025 07:00 | Tilak Doshi
The Guardian's Fiona Harvey has delivered her latest climate sermon, in which she claims that "deniers" have now accepted "the science" and moved on to economic arguments ahead of COP30. What tosh, says Dr Tilak Doshi.
The post The Guardian’s Climate Cult: Fiona Harvey’s Latest Sermon on COP30 appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

News Round-Up Tue Jun 03, 2025 00:58 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

New Covid Wave Scare Campaign a Massive Flop Mon Jun 02, 2025 19:00 | Rebekah Barnett
Like the Marvel franchise, with its unlimited instalments and spin-offs, a new Covid scare campaign is underway, says Rebekah Barnett. And as with Marvel, its purpose is largely to create demand for merchandise.
The post New Covid Wave Scare Campaign a Massive Flop appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

I Was Too Kind Describing Schools as Institutionalised Childcare. The Reality is Even Worse Mon Jun 02, 2025 17:13 | Joanna Gray
Joanna Gray says she was too kind to describe schools as institutionalised childcare. The reality is even worse. Often they're just a holding pen, or even a pre-custody suite.
The post I Was Too Kind Describing Schools as Institutionalised Childcare. The Reality is Even Worse appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network

Voltaire, international edition

Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en

Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en

Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en

Voltaire Network >>

Paddy in The Shed - poem of the Great War

galway | anti-war / imperialism | opinion/analysis

Thursday April 13, 2023 19:57

by Fred Johnston - Private

Report this post to the editors

Poem around my late grand-uncle in Dublin

A poem retrieved from memories of my teenage years listening to tales of The Great War from my grand-uncle, Paddy Caffrey, who remained affected by it decades afterwards.

PADDY IN THE SHED

Paddy’s gone into the shed again
Shivering from his war
Till he fell down the stairs in Gardiner Street
And died behind the door

My grand-uncle was a dapper lad
Even in later years
A handkerchief in the breast pocket
He was fond of his few beers

He’d had a few when he tumbled
Down the tenement stairs
He’d survived his war and made it home
But he fought on for fifty years

I was a raw teenager then
The same age, more or less
He’d scuttled off to Flanders fields
On the Kitchener Express

He had some great yarns of courage
And a few about losing your nerve
And one of a young lad tied to a post
And shot for refusing to serve

He rode on a two-horse and limber
And one day while standing at ease
Came the whack of an Albrecht mortar
And blew one horse into the trees

My Granny would tell him to shut it
His stories were gory and rough
Too nasty and brutal and bloody by far
For young lads to hear, shocking stuff

As if we didn’t see him
Shivering in the back yard shed
When he reckoned that no one would miss him
If he popped out to chat with the dead.

FRED JOHNSTON

Add Your Comments >>

printable version

with comments

atom feed of comments

rss feed of comments

RSS and atom feeds allow you to keep track of new comments on particular stories. You can input the URL's from these links into a rss reader and you will be informed whenever somebody posts a new comment.

Digg this

Furl

Reddit

Gab

Twitter

© 2001-2025 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy