Berties uncles were generous.

national | politics / elections | opinion/analysis

Friday September 22, 2006 16:30

by John McDermott - removefiannafail

I wish every dey was me communin dey

"Me Ma said that uncle Phil died,when he was 75 in a place where only rich people went for medical treatment when they got ill.There was no waitin lists or queus there as long as you had plenty of money.It was in a posh part of the city too out past Ballsbridge. I was grown up then and runnin the country of course.

De day de queen of Drumcondra made his Holy Communion.

"Me Ma said that uncle Phil died,when he was 75 in a place where only rich people went for medical treatment when they got ill.There was no waitin lists or queus there as long as you had plenty of money.It was in a posh part of the city too out past Ballsbridge. I was grown up then and runnin the country of course.
I was very excited on the morning I made my first holy communion.All my old pals said I would get lots of money from rich uncles like uncle Phil.
Mammy told me that my cousin Charly from Kinsealy got so much money on his communion day, that he used to dress up in his communion shirt every year on the same day, after that, and do thebeggin rounds again and again until the uncles got a bit fed up bein pestered and told him to f**k off. He never told nobody where he was going every year, and all de family thought it was funny when dey found out about it.
He never gave up though,did cuzzin Charly. He sent his pal Des after that -in his place like-, and he was such a sweet and endeerin child that Mam says that he rarely left any house empty handed. Charly was very cute though. as me mam said, "you could let him out anywhere an he,d come back with a bundle a money".The mass was a bit of a bore.The preest waffled on about how we were receevin the bodie and blood of Christ for the first time.He put sometin like a white Tayto crisp in everyones mouth and we had to swallow it quick without chewin or antin.Give me real Tayto crisps anie day.
Ae had our photographs taken outside the church.Then I called on uncle Phil.
Mam said to call him Mister Monahan because he wasnt realy my uncle.Mam said he was born in a labourers cottage wid notin, an his family was very poor.He worked hard and got rich.A man named Tom Laidlaw owned lots of land near Castleknock in the 1960s and was always complainin about the hi taxes on rich people. He sold the land,to a sindicate and went back to his ancestrel home in Scotland, cause he wasnt a proper irishman and taut that it was his dutie to pay all de taxes to de state.
Uncle Phil lived in this big house and farm called Sumerton, near Castleknock not far from Lucan. he was a neighbour of another big business tycoon called Liam Lawlor.. When Uncle Phil he died he owned a big company called Monark Propertees which was always buildin shopping centres. My mam says that dese people had less problems wid wealt and income taxes,because dey never payed any.!
Uncle Phil was in trouble wid some sillie Tribunal a few years ago when he gave €25,000 to Fianna Fail an some people said it should have been used to fix up the liver of a sick Fianna Fail politician called Brian Lenihan who died anyway after he got a new liver. We called on uncle gerry an uncle David after dat but I dont remember how much money uncle Phil gave me exactly because me mam took most of it an said it was bein put in a special savins account somewhere in de Bahamas ilands to help pay for me educatin when I got older. Dats all I have to say about de day I made me first Holie Communien.

save preference

Comments (9 of 9)

Spelling

by John

Fri Sep 22, 2006 18:12

I'm not quite clear from this whether its the case that you can't spell or whether you're a middle-class snob trying to imply that people from working-class origins can't spell. Please clarify.

John

by pat c

Fri Sep 22, 2006 18:20

I presume he is satirising Berties pronunciation. Phoenix Magazine do a similar send up of Berties Doiry in every edition.

Mocking

Sat Sep 23, 2006 10:44

What he's mocking is Bertie Ahern's working-class Dublin accent. I'm sure a lot of contributors on here have similar accents. Such snobbery is simply to be expected from this poster. His main gripe about the present government in all the years he's been posting here is that it builds too many houses, roads and factories. He has a fanatical hostility to the building industry which employs a quarter of a million people in Ireland. He'd rather return to the situation we had 20 years when most of the people with the sort of accent Bertie has had to emigrate to London, New York and Sydney.

Have a heart John, Pat & John

by Mgt

Sun Sep 24, 2006 10:46

Its not about accents lads. Please have a heart.
Bertie too - the poor wee child - must have been traumatised, yet tantalised by many 'uncles'.
Nonetheless, I think one will find that no favours were requested and definitely none were given.
Do you not believe that Its very-very unkind of one in fifty of the people to reduce support for the GOP of Ireland?
Do you not believe that this GOP and its leadership has served our people well - very well indeed - from the Waldorf Astoria in New York through a full century of service - excellent value-added, long-term service?

The Mahon Mole

by The Crewser

Thu Oct 05, 2006 16:32

So Ian Paisley has a mole in the Mahon Tribunal and with the aid of Geraldine Kennedy and the two Mayo muppets (Kenny and Rabbitte) almost brings down the Irish Government. That would be some coup as the deadline for devolved government in Northern Ireland approaches. Makes you wonder where the allegiance of the Times really lies. And I foolishly believed that the Sindo were the worst media organ we had. It throws the phone tapping scenario (Kennedy and Arnold) into a whole new light doesnt it.
The Crewser

John standing up for the working class!!!

by cool j

Thu Oct 05, 2006 17:02

Don't make me laugh! - The working class are mere canon fodder for the type of capitilist businessmen and right wing political fellow travelling scum you seem to love so much!!!
The working class are the people being ripped off day in day out by your type as I have pointed out elsewhere!!!

More left wing Clap Trap

Thu Oct 05, 2006 22:07

Sadly it is you and your ilk who are trapped in a time warp. We have to all move on from the dark age mentality of the outmoded and discredited socialism you espouse. Besides you are all neatly avoiding the issue. Why did Ms Kennedy did what she did and what about the timing. She has a few questions to answer herself shortly.
The Irish Times and Geraldine Kennedy are hardly shining examples of left wing dogma. If you want to align yourself with the mob who want to return the Northern part of our Country to trouble and strife then be man enough to come out and declare it.
It's very easy to hide behind a few meaningless slogans.
The Crewser

People Power

Fri Oct 06, 2006 15:23

The Crewser Oct 6th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
People Power
Last weekend the people of Ireland gave their answer to the begrudgers. They want Bertie to stay as I do. Never has a Taoiseach worked so hard and so selflessly for this country than Bertie Ahern. The economy is the envy of Europe and indeed the world.
We are on the brink of a historic breakthrough in Northern Ireland next month and all the begrudgers can do is throw mud at Bertie. We know that Geraldine Kennedy, Kenny and Rabbitte have another agenda but at the crucial times next May particularly people power will win out again and the begrudgers will be left where they belong : floundering.
The Crewser

Reply to John

by Kevin T. Walsh - Social Justice and Ethics

Sat Oct 07, 2006 00:58

John

I notice through the Indymedia sites you are a critic in your own mind. I enjoyed the article on Bertie's Uncles. You noticed some spelling errors. Quite extraordinary - you must be a total academic from North Dublin. You mention snobbery - now John, listen very carefully.

I will give you a free lesson on Ethics this evening but a word of caution - don't take me for some Kevin Walsh that you say represents an armed wing - sometime ago, on this site. I have a low tolerance of idiots like you.

I am an academic John but unlike you I am creative. I would not judge you on your accent that you are so touchy about. Bertie as Taoiseach has the same accent.

John write us an article and show us who you are? What you represent? and then let us be the critics.

Have the courage John - try and be creative but first study and read some more. Evoloution is a strange thing. It took the tortoise 500 years to get to America; it would only take you probably 40 years of study to get to my level.

Quotation from me John
'Fools criticise but the artists keep on writing. Fools laugh but wise men just smile'

Now John, you sad little man, change your Bugs Bunny boxer shorts and Get a Life!

Number of comments per page

Upcoming Events

New Events

Other Press

User Preferences

Feeds

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

The Saker

Public Inquiry

Human Rights in Ireland

Berties uncles were generous.

Comments (9 of 9)