(réf. Etudes Britanniques Contemporaines
n° 6. Montpellier: Presses universitaires de Montpellier, 1995)
129
The Barracks by John John McGahern:
annotation
Michael Walsh
(Université Paris
7, Institut Charles
V)
Although the characters in John McGahern's extraordinary novel and
the story that unfolds through them have an unmistakable universal resonance,
the text is deeply rooted in its human environment and contains a great many
references, particularly to the religious culture of the Ireland of the late
1940s and to the history of the country, both recent and more remote. The
notes which follow are designed to assist students in an understanding of
the specific nature of those local particularisms.
(1)
P.7 (l. 9)
the Sacred Heart lamp A small, usually red-tinted
light bulb inserted into
a socket in front of an image
of Christ pointing to his exposed heart. Devotion to the Sacred Heart appeared
in Ireland at the beginning of the 19th century. Ireland was formally consecrated
to the Sacred Heart in 1873.
(10) the . . . crib of Bethlehem
Even the poorest Irish households would have
a small crib at Christmas
time, with clay figurines of the Virgin, Joseph, the Infant
Jesus,
etc.
(11) their father's tea In
rural Ireland, tea generally refers to the evening meal: see, for
example, Reegan's meal after the Circuit Court, 64
(7); dinner was the mid-day
meal (cf 212 [7]). The usage was not systematic, however, since
supper was also used, cf 23 (26) where Casey speaks of
"goin' up for the bit of
supper".
(24) turf A form of fuel,
also known as peat. Vast tracts of bog (cf. 29 [15]) are to be found
in many parts of Ireland but particularly in the West, where the action of
the novel is set. Most farmers in the West of Ireland would also have owned
a patch of bog from which they extracted enough turf for the purposes of
cooking and heating throughout the year.
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130
P.
11
(27) with its
S
twined through the Celtic
G The official title of
the Irish Police Force was Garda Siochana, the Gaelic for Keepers
of the Peace. Until recently, and certainly at the time of the novel,
the Irish language possessed its own alphabet derived from medieval manuscript
writing, distinct in many respects from the English
alphabet.
P.
14
(2) Angelus A Roman Catholic
prayer said twice daily, at 12 noon and at 6 in the
evening.
(21) The eternal medals and
rosary beads ... Irish Catholicism is strongly Marian in character
and many Irish Catholics would wear so-called Miraculous Medals, engraved
with the figure of the Virgin, on chains around their necks. Until Vatican
II it would have been common practice for Catholics in Ireland to recite
the rosary (cf. 33 [17]) silently during Mass which, at that time,
was said in Latin. The reference here is to lost medals and rosary beads
being found in the Church grounds and hung on the spikes to be reclaimed
by their owners.
P.
18
(6) to bow the knee and kiss
the ring Acts that symbolise subservience to the authority of the Catholic
Church (the ring in question being that of a Bishop).
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131
P.
23
(8) this holy, catholic and apostolic country The qualifiers all come
from the Credo or Apostles' Creed
(... et unam sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam ecclesiam)
which was usually the first full prayer of the rosary. The speaker's intention
is evidently heavily sarcastic.
(14) Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), Lord Protector of
the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1653 to 1658, is respected
and, in some cases, revered in England but loathed and reviled in Ireland
on account of his campaign of indiscriminate massacre against Irish supporters
of Charles I during his Irish campaign in 1649.
(14) Get roasted alive in hell or drownded and perished in
Connaught A highly idiomatic version of the slogan that accompanied the
settlement consequent upon Cromwell's conquest: "To Hell or to Connaught!"
The soldiers and financiers of the war (adventurers) were paid in
the form of land from which the native inhabitants were driven, towards inferior
land in the agriculturally poorer province of Connaught, where the action
of the novel takes place.
P. 25
(12) the bare
five feet nine The regulation height (lm 75, approx.) for young men wishing
to become policemen.
(35) sallies The Hiberno-English for
osier.
(10) ragged belt of straw The bundles of small plants, intended
to be planted out at the beginning of March, were traditionally held together
by a long rope of twisted straw.
(29) dresser The difference between a dresser and a press (cf.
9 [6]) was that the upper part of the dresser was open, whereas the
corresponding section of a press was closed off. Both were used for storage,
the dresser usually for crockery and the press generally for
clothes.
(32) soda bread A very common type of white bread, made with
bicarbonate of
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(34) porter A variety of
black beer, of which Guinness is the most renowned.
P.
28
(19) "Thirty-six inches across
the chest ..." The regulation chest measurement (0 m 91, approx.)
for young men wishing to join the Gardai.
(19) a yard thick with solid
ignorance A play on words, thick meaning both
stupid and fat or
portly.
(19) Connemara A wild and
mountainous region of the West of Ireland. Casey is here the spokesman for
a widespread cultural prejudice, suggesting that the inhabitants of such
a region lack intelligence.
(26) the Depot The Headquarters
of the Gardai.
(26) in the first days of the
Irish Free State The Irish Free State was proclaimed in December,
1922.
(27) The British had
withdrawn ... The British forces and administration withdrew from
the 26 counties that made up the Irish Free State.
(32) tricolour …
The green, white and gold flag of the Irish Free State (cf. 118
[1])
(32) a language of their own
to learn The Irish language, or Gaelic, a member
of the Celtic language group, to which Welsh and Breton also
belong
(37) the Phoenix Park An
immense public park situated some two miles from the centre of
Dublin.
(5) as they marched to
Mass
on Sunday mornings The vast majority of the police force would
have been – and remains – Roman Catholic. The militant act
of police force may be seen as a triumphalist act of self-assertion
but its sectarian overtones are inescapable.
(14) creel of turf This
was a barrel-shaped container of which there were generally two, made of
wicker (sally rods, cf. 25 [35]), joined by a strap. When filled with
turf, they were fitted on to two prongs set in parallel wooden bars that
rested on a straddle on the donkey's back. The creel could also be used singly,
when it would have been slung over a farmer's back by means of a straw rope.
(15)
the bog Cf. 9 (24) Bog is soft, spongy, water-logged ground
composed of vegetation which, as it decomposes, becomes compressed by the
weight of the overlying material. These accumulations reach considerable
density and, when extracted in small sections and dried, make an excellent
fuel. Ireland boasts several turf-fuelled electric power
stations.
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133
(26) the concate The
conceit; a transcription of the local accent.
(33) B.A. Bachelor of Arts. Degree awarded in the Arts and
Humanities after three years of study.
(33) barrister In the legal profession in Britain and Ireland,
the advocate who, begowned and bewigged, having received a brief from the
solicitor who will have done all the research into the case, pleads the case
in court before the judge and, in criminal cases, the
jury.
P.
30 (37)
Kelly, the Boy from Killann A
popular marching song associated with the Irish Rising of 1798. The lyrics
were written by RJ. McCall. The melody is traditional.
P.
32
(17) The Sweepstake
programme A radio programme that
advertised the Irish Sweepstake which was a form of international lottery
set up in the late 40s, income from which was used, among other things, to
finance the construction of hospitals throughout Ireland.
(13) Franciscan brown The shade of brown of the robes worn
by Franciscan monks.
(17)
"Thou, 0 Lord,
... And my
tongue..."
The opening responses of the rosary, the most common form of collective
Catholic worship in Ireland after the Mass. It consists of the Creed, followed
by five decades, each consisting of one Our Father, ten Hail Marys and one
Gloria, after which there were optional appendages, most noticeably, as in
the Reegan household, the Marian Litany and, possibly, a series of prayers
of a local or personal character.
(33) "The Dedication of the Christian Family" A certain number of prayers, inspired by the local parish clergy, or of more personal intent, could be appended to the rosary. At this period, a movement had been launched, spearheaded principally by Canon Fulton Sheehan, to encourage the saying of the rosary by the whole family. (35) The Canonization of Blessed Oliver Plunkett (1629-1681) Archbishop of Armagh, thus head of the Irish Church. He was falsely accused of plotting to bring 20,000 French soldiers into Ireland to overthrow English rule. He was hanged, drawn and quartered. At the time of the action, he had been beatified (hence the Blessed).
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He
was canonized in 1976.
(37) Drogheda After a siege,
Cromwell (cf. 23 [14]) and 8000 soldiers stormed this walled town,
situated some thirty miles north of Dublin and then slaughtered 3000 defenders
and townspeople, in September, 1649.
(28) official green thread
Again (cf. 47,35 the green mail
car), a reference to the national colour.
(34) sods of turf The turf
is dug out in rectangular
lumps, known as sods with
a spade-like implement called
a Steeveen (there is no English equivalent). The lumps vary in size
but would have measured approximately 0m50 long x 0m15 wide x 0m 15 deep
on average.
(34) Woodbines A brand of cheap cigarettes, occasionally sold
in boxes of five.
(36) the cylinders of paper
Newspapers, of which there would not have been more than a dozen or so
for the small town in question, used to be packaged, not in bales one on
top of the other, but rolled up in cylinders.
(5) Shannon Ireland's main river, 161 miles (258 km) long,
with its source in Co Cavan and reaching tidewater and the Atlantic at Limerick,
navigable for light vessels over much of is length.
(7) wanted
any
messages done This is a typical Hiberno-English formulation of
wanted him to run any errands.
(8)
The
Express
An English daily newspaper.
(8)
The Independent Properly The Irish
Independent,
one of the three national dailies with
The Irish
Press
and The Irish Times.
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135
P.
52
(15) First
Mass (18)
Second At the time of the action,
roughly 95% of the inhabitants of the Irish Republic were Catholics and a
large percentage practised their religion regularly. Thus, even small rural
parishes would have to organise several Masses each Sunday
morning.
(19) at the rails The action precedes Vatican II by more than
ten years. At that time, communicants would have received the sacrament of
communion kneeling at the altar rails.
(24)
Woman A popular woman's
weekly magazine.
(35) Skerries A coastal
town in north county Dublin.
(3) "… I couldn't meet
me Waterloo" An idiomatic expression, derived from the Battle of Waterloo
and meaning to be defeated. Here, in jocular mode, Casey indicates
that Mrs Casey bested
him in a purely amorous
contest.
(8)
Pavilion
the name of the local dancehall.
(16) Red island An
island off the coast of north County Dublin on which one of the first Holiday
Camps was installed.
(16) Mick Delahunty A popular
dance band of the late 40s and 50s. Dance bands were frequently referred
to simply by the name of the lead singer or player.
(18) he
was mad for a court
Idiomatic expression meaning He was very anxious for a session
of kissing and cuddling (nothing more intimate).
(31) as the fit hur As the effort of such laughter gave
her a pain in her side.
(17) potato ridges Potatoes
were set, three or four across, in rows, or ridges, or varying length (cf.
131 [25]).
(20) water sally A variety
of osier.
(16) soda and salt and sour
milk The ingredients of soda bread, the natural accompaniment of savoury
dishes, such as eggs and bacon, for instance (cf. 26
[32]).
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(16) Michael O'Hehir The
best-known Irish sports commentator who specialised in Sunday afternoon direct
broadcasts of football matches from the GAA Stadium
at Croke Park
in
Dublin (Pairc an Chrocaigh – see following note)
(17) "Bail o Dhia oraibh go
leir a chairde Gael o
Phairc an Chrocaigh" This is the
only phrase in Gaelic in the entire novel. The sentence that follows it in
the text is a correct English rendering
(Hello everyone ... ) but a literal
translation breaks down as follows :
Bail
(substantive)
Blessing
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trophy (known as the Sam Maguire Cup). A similar competition is organised for the sport of hurling.
(23) Mooney's A celebrated
pub in Dublin situated almost opposite Wynn's Hotel (cf. note 27
infra)
(23) Abbey Street A
thoroughfare in central Dublin.
(27) Wynn's Hotel A large
hotel in Abbey Street, particularly favoured, as Mullins says, by a clerical
clientèle from the country.
P.
77
(12) whiskey Note
the e. which differentiates the drink from the Scottish whisky.
Both are derived from the gaelic uisge beatha, literally water
of life or ...
eau-de-vie.
(30) Carrick Street The
reference is to Carrick-on-Shannon, the biggest town in Co
Leitrim.
(32) Dr. J. Ryan, M.B., N.U.I.
The initials after the name stand for Medicinae
baccalaureus (Bachelor of Medicine), and National University of
Ireland.
(17) Browns and Gatebys and
Rushfords ... All English names, of families whose ancestors would
have been tradesmen and artisans connected to the British garrison and who
felt at least vestigial loyalty to the old Imperial power (see following
note).
(28) With holy-water bottle
and stole ... The paragraph describes the arrival of the new,
nationalist Irish régime. It is significant that the new dispensation
is presented in the first instance in terms of a religious (Catholic) benediction
(apart from being a woman's wrap, a
stole is also an important item
of priestly garb consisting of a long strip of material hung round the neck
symbolising a priest's official function).
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(29)
Soldiers
of
Old Ireland are
We A line from the Irish National Anthem, The
Soldier's
Song.
(29) Wellington Parade the
English name, after the Duke of Wellington (1769-1862), gave way to that
of an Irish heroine, St. Brigid
(died circa 524-528), the second
Saint in the Irish Pantheon; green is the national colour (cf. 118
[1])
(32) Ulster Rifles and
Iniskilling Fusiliers Irish Regiments in the British
Army.
(36)
The Word A religious publication of a missionary
character.
(8) The County Hospital One
major hospital was located in each of the 26 counties in the Irish Republic,
generally in the county town.
It
was to these hospitals that most serious cases were referred. Where cancer
was concerned, however, serious cases were referred to the newly established
St. Luke's Hospital, in Rathgar, Dublin.
P.
96
(24) the Protestant Church
Although only 5% or so of the population of the Irish Republic belong
to one or other of the Protestant faiths, most Irish towns still boast
at least one Protestant, usually
Church of Ireland, or Episcopalian, Church, relies of an age when the Protestant
community in southern Ireland was larger and when, in any case, the Church
of Ireland was the officially Established church of the
country.
P.
107 (11)
eyes The beginnings of the bud of the potato.
(13) splits Seed potatoes were split in two, each "split"
containing an "eye", which meant that two stalks grew from each seed
tuber.
(17) conacre A form of
land rental. Leases were of eleven months, from January 1 to November 30,
so as to prevent the leaseholder from acquiring automatic entitlement to
a renewal of the lease.
(26) Chief Super The Chief
Superintendent, hierarchically superior even to Quirke.
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P.
109
(8) small holdings Small
farms, holding in this context is a synonym for
farm.
(13) a nation once again The
refrain of the popular ballad which bears the same title. The lyrics are
a poem written by Thomas Davis (1814-1845), and the melody is
traditional.
(14) a flying column This
consisted of a small number of highly mobile armed guerillas operating in
familiar terrain whose preferred tactic was to lay in ambush, engage the
British Army squadron, then melt into the surrounding woods and hills.
(16) The Irish Free State The
Irish Free State was proclaimed in 1922 after
a period bloody guerilla warfare between the Irish Republican
Army, and the British Army which had drafted in, as auxiliaries, a force
of Irregulars, known as the Black and Tans, renowned in Ireland for their
cruel and barbaric methods.
(19) the Civil War After
the proclamation of the Irish Free State, Civil war broke out almost immediately
between two factions within Irish nationalist ranks; the irredentists who
wished to hold out for a 32-county Republic, and the others for whom independence
for 26 counties was at least a basis upon which to work for independence
for the whole island.
(23) the day he threw them
his medal After independence, those who had been actively involved in
the armed struggle were awarded medals and, in many cases, a
pension. Reegan's
gesture indicates profound dissatisfaction with the way the successors to
the British had managed the affairs of the country.
(23) the
little boat train
The train that connected with the passenger boat.
(27) the last eight miles ...
(33) Holyhead ... (34)
Dun
Laoghaire The boat referred to in the previous note, known
generally as the Mail-boat, plied between Dun Laoghaire, a coastal town and
ferry port some eight miles from the centre of Dublin, and Holyhead, on the
north-western tip of Wales.
P.
117 (4)
the Pillar Nelson's Pillar, somewhat
similar in appearance to Nelson's
Column in Trafalgar Square,
London. It used to be a popular meeting-point in the centre of Dublin's main
thoroughfare, O'Connell Street (5). It was blown up by the IRA in 1966.
(19) Findlater's Church, Dorset
Street... Landmarks on his bus journey.
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140
(22) the Wellington The
Wellington Monument. An obelisk situated in the Phoenix Park, commemorating
the deeds of the Duke of Wellington (cf. 78 [29]) which has
not yet been blown up.
(3) Eire The Gaelic word
for Ireland, more widely used to refer to Southern
Ireland at the time of the novel than at present. The term
still figures on Irish postage stamps and coins.
(34) to
save the turf To save is the verb used to encompass the
entire operation of digging the turf, spreading it out to dry, assembling,
it into piles and transporting it to the home. It is also used to signify
the overall operation of cropping hay and cereals such as oats and barley
(cf. 173 [36] ... they were saving
hay or some other
work ...).
P.
128 (7)
Kerr's Pinks ... Arran Banners ...
Champions Varieties of potato.
P.
129 (21)
mould Very rich powdery alkaline
soil (cf. 213 [23]).
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141
P.
131
(24) drills These were
a type of narrow row in which potatoes were cultivated, but whereas potatoes
were set three or four across in a ridge (cf. 55 [17]), only
one was set in a drill.
(32) we'll he seeking professional
status The gardai was, of course,
already a professional force at the time of its creation, composed almost
exclusively of members of the previous, English-administered force, the RIB
(Royal Irish Constabulary). Quirke's complaint must therefore be seen as
indicating, a desire for long-er training, greater professional prestige,
and more consideration from the general public.
(35) Sodality Confessions
Sodalities were groups of pious lay people within the Catholic Church
that met for Devotions once a year.
P.
143
(23) penal stations up in Donegal
The reference is to remote police stations to which indelicate or
undiplomatic gardai were occasionally exiled and also to the existence of
an island prison off the coast of Donegal, on Tory
Island.
(4) in the box in the
Review Box here refers to a column
or page set aside for commendations of local achievement. For
Review, cf. 68 (31).
(7) stout A strong variety
of porter (cf. 26 [34]).
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P.
154
(3)
Danny
Boy An extremely popular
melancholy romantic ballad. The words were written by Frederick Weatherly
in 1913. The air is traditional and probably much older.
(17) Strandhill A seaside
resort in County Sligo, not far from the small town in which the action takes
place.
P.
163
(2) the Legion of Mary A
lay movement within the Catholic Church that engaged in various charitable
activities, founded in 1921 by Irishman Frank Duff and which subsequently
spread throughout the world.
(13) an old Volunteer The Irish Volunteers were a militia force
set up in November, 1913 as a response to the Ulster Volunteers, founded
in January of that same year to try and forcibly dissuade the British Government
from awarding a form of limited independence (Home Rule) to Ireland. Reegan
had evidently been a member of the Irish Volunteers.
(27) the Papal Nuncio A
professional diplomat, enjoying the status of an
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143
ambassador, the
representative of the Papacy in countries that have diplomatic relations
with the
Vatican.
(30) Matt Talbot (1856-1925) A Dublin worker and reformed alcoholic
who, when he gave up alcohol, became obsessed with religion. After his death,
he was discovered to be wearing a chain tied twice around his body, hung
with religious medals.
(27) I'll summons An
order to appear in
a magistrate's court, here
for the offence of drinking
after hours.
P.
178 (25) tannin'
Beating.
(13)
On the sixth of January The Feast
of the Epiphany, after which the festivities of the Christmas season are
traditionally deemed to be at an end.
(35) the little Yiddish Theatre
Situated at 133-139, Commercial Road,
the
Grand
Palais functioned as a full-time Yiddish Theatre from 1935 until
1970.
P.
194 (8)
to be signed with the Cross The
Ash Wednesday ceremony in the Catholic Church involves kneeling
at
the altar rail to receive the imprint of the cross on one's
forehead.
(10) thumbed ... with the ashes
of their mortality The impression of the cross, in
a mixture of ashes and water, applied by the priest's thumb, would,
at the time of
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the action, have been accompanied by the Latin prayer:
Memento, homo, quia pulvis
est et in pulverem reverteris
(Remember, Man, that dust thou art and into dust thou shalt
return).
(18) Lenten Devotions
Devotions referred collectively to a variety of forms of communal prayer,
generally, with the exception of Lent (as here), on a Sunday evening.
(18) Benediction A Catholic
ceremony, lasting a quarter of an hour or so, consisting, at the time, of
three or four hymns chanted in Latin during which the host, housed in a
monstrance, was exposed for worship by the faithful.
P.
204
(33) the black harp The
harp is the national emblem of Ireland (it appears, for example, on all Irish
coins). It was the preferred musical instrument of the ancient
Bards.
P.
208
(27) to ever want to see Ireland
First This probably refers to a campaign by
the Irish Tourist Board to
See Ireland First!
(31) pig-in-the-kitchen A
deprecatory stereotype of the Irish rural family as living in
filth, with, notably, a pig housed in the kitchen.
(37) the Shelbourne Hotel At
the time of the action, the most luxurious of Dublin's hotels, situated on
St. Stephen's Green.
(38) gentry The social
class immediately below the aristocracy. Of particular resonance in Ireland,
where the term referred to the descendants, English, Anglo-Irish, and even
native Irish, of those most closely associated with English
rule.
P.
212
(7) dinner In rural Ireland,
dinner
almost
invariably refers to the mid-day meal; the evening meal, rarely taken
later than 6 p.m., was referred to as tea (cf. 7 [11])
P.
213 (23)
The green rushes Symbolising the
first flowering of nature in spring.
(23) Our Lady's
Eve Traditionally, the
month of May was known as Our Lady's (Mary's) Month, so this feast day would
have been at the be-inning of the month. It was, however, a locally celebrated
feast and does not appear in the Irish Liturgical
Calendar.
(27) cotton This is bog
cotton, a white, fluffy flower that resembles raw
cotton.
(13) the yellow oil Chrism,
the consecrated oil used to anoint the dying in the Catholic
Church.
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(33) Oil of
olives ... The composition of Chrism, as outlined in the Easter
prayer that follows.
(36) whiskey ... Preparations were afoot for the wake
during which the friends and neighbours of the deceased came and kept vigil
around the corpse. Food and drink, especially alcohol, were traditionally
provided.
(27) Nash, John, 1752-1835. One of the foremost English
neo-classical architects who designed many mansions in England and Ireland.
His masterpiece was Regent's Park, in London and the Royal Crescent,
Bath.
(30) burned to the ground A great many Great Houses belonging
to the gentrygwere burned down by the IRA during the Irish War of
Independence.
(37) "I never saw the bate of this mornin' ..."
Bate is a transcription: the local pronunciation of beat; I
never saw anything to beat what happened here this
morning.
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(réf. Etudes Britanniques Contemporaines
n° 6. Montpellier: Presses universitaires de Montpellier, 1995)