1916 - The Official Thread

[quinner]

I think most of us only tea, and bread and butter for breakfast, at least in the 40s 50s

LOL..our favourite......Couldn't wait for the school sambo to come along.....

[Mykidsmom]

fried bread was a special treat in my house in the '50s

your right quinner...those were sad times...my da was about 10 during the rising....and i think all he remembered was really the looting...but i do know according to him as a kid ...he was out all day trying to bring back provisions..and the volunteers were are ready to fire at the kids as the british soldiers..

he seemed to remember the black and tans a lot more...

[cosmo]

the tommies were just conscripted during ww1 and sent to Dublin thinking they were heading to france, the tans were a different kettle of fish ,given a free hand to crush the rebellious irish. ...one of the reasons the rising wasn`t popular was it came exactly one year after the disaster at Gallipoli [1915] where the Dublin fusiliers lost heavly [among other irish regts], their first anniversary was read out in most Dublin parishes on easter sunday.

[cosmo]

Lonnie donegan, the dying rebel.

[joan mack]

After much deliberation, I've decided to come to Dublin for the Centenary Year. Not coming for Easter, instead I'm coming on Saturday 23rd April. Going to the Abbey for the last performance of "The Plough and the Stars", then on 24th April- the "real" centenary- I think Sinn Fein have something planned at the Post Office - Riposte might like to confirm......

I loved those plays Katie Plough and the Stars Juno and the Peacock in particular but the Dublin accent might confuse you

[KatieMorag]

I loved those plays Katie Plough and the Stars Juno and the Peacock in particular but the Dublin accent might confuse you

Why do you say that? I've never been confused by Dublin accents before!

[joan mack]

Why do you say that? I've never been confused by Dublin accents before!

Of course not Katie, I even get confused at some of the sayings in the plays and I live here over seventy years. Its a quaint way they spoke in Dublin in the the times he portrays.

That is why his plays are so special. The Acting is always great most of the plays have to do with the troubles as I am sure you know, Life in tenement houses etc. I have no doubt if you have no already seen them even in school you will like them

[joan mack]

Language
The language used by O’Casey in the play is an important feature in creating the sense of Dublin as it was in the time of the Rising. As the majority of characters in the play represent inner city dwellers, it is the language of this class that forms the backbone of much of the dialogue in the play. However, one of the major criticisms directed at the play at the time of the first production was that the language was unrealistic and was too crude and earthy to represent the citizens of Dublin. Indeed some of the actors refused to speak some of the lines which resulted in cast changes before the opening performances.

Much of the crudity of language is contained in the lines spoken by Rosie Redmond and in the various passages of verbal abuse involving characters such as The Covey, Bessie Burgess, Fluther and Jack. The passages of verbal abuse in which The Covey calls Peter "A little malignant oul’ bastard" and "a lemon whiskered oul’ swine"; in which Jack refers to Bessie as "That old bitch"; in which Fluther refers to The Covey as "a lowser"; where Bessie refers to Nora as "a little overdressed throllop" - reflect what O’Casey considered to be the authentic speech and idioms of the tenement dwellers.

However, as with most dramas, an element of poetic licence is afforded to the playwright and here O'Casey condenses the language of the tenements in order to highlight the peculiarities of individual characters and both the dramatic and comic elements of the play.

Apart from O'Casey's obvious use of swear words and general verbal abuse, the play is also noticeable for the sentimentality of the language. The language of the love scenes between Jack and Nora is in stark contrast to their verbal abuse that pervades the tenement. Phrases such as "little red lipped Nora" have their origin in a much different notion in human experience than phrases such as "malignant 'oul bastard". Another source of sentimentality in the play's language is the romantic allusions of Peter in which he demonstrates his Nationalist feelings "I felt a burnin' lump in me throat when I heard the bard playing the soldier's song". Brennan's speech after the death of Jack Clitheroe is a further example of sentimentality and reflects the disparity between the idealist and the realist. It represents the glorification of those who died in the Rising and in the language used by Brennan, O'Casey clearly shows the difference between the reality of the Rising for those who took part and for the tenement dwellers and the reflected glory in which it was later held.

While much of the language used in the play is derived from the authentic speech patterns of Dublin tenement dwellers, in the play it is often highly stylised. In much the same way as the language of the "Playboy of the Western World" was a highly stylised version of the Hiberno-English spoken along the western seaboard. By using alliteration, assonance and poetic techniques, the language of the "Plough and the Stars" transpires as more dramatic and stylised than the colloquial language it was based on. At times the language of the play reflects poetic drama in much the same as did the language of Shakespeare's plays.

All of the characters who inhabit O'Casey's tenement reflect this form of language, however when looking at the skill of O'Casey in formulating the language of the play it is noticeable that characters such as Bessie Burgess and Fluther Goode are presented with a wide diversity of speech. Bessie Burgess at times represents the most crude and earthly speech of any character in the play but she also possesses the ability to be extremely poetic and even biblical in her speech "But you'll not escape from the arrow that flieth be night or the sickness that wasteth be dry". She continued "They'll be scattered abroad like th' dust in th' darkness".

When speaking of the plight of the British soldiers at the front, Bessie again adopts an exalted apocalyptic tone "They'll be layin' down their white bodies shredded into torn and bloody pieces on the altar that God himself has built for the sacrifice heroes". At the other end of the spectrum, Bessie demonstrates her crudeness and coarseness "You bowsey, come in ower that" and "the life's pourin' out o' me. I've got this through you, through you, you bitch you."

Another character in the play who's use of language is distinctive, is Fluther Goode. A feature of Fluther's language is his constant use of misappropriasms such as the word "derogatory" used out of context. This adds to the comical aspect of Fluther's character. He is also noticeable for exaggeration and his highly descriptive style "I hit a man last week and he's fallin' yet". Fluther Goode encompasses much of the ribaldry of the play's language. In his conversations and arguments with The Covey and Peter, we can deduce O'Casey's clever sense of Dublin wit. (Refer to Act 1).

Although Mollser has little to say in the play, the lines that she speaks are notable for their combination of sentimentality and common sense "Is there anyone goin' with a titther o' sense".

The language in the play is an important element in creating comedy and tragedy. Language used by the speaker in Act 2 contrasts with the language used by the characters who, at that moment, were inside the pub. This helps us to delineate, not just the chasm that exists between political ideologies, but also the vast gulf in terms of social class and education between O'Casey's tenement dwellers and those urging them to revolution. Statements made by Clitheroe and Brennan "Ireland is greater than a wife" and "Ireland is greater than a mother" are simplistic attempts to bridge that gap and depict clearly the effect of the speakers words on gullible young men.

Another example of a tenement dweller speaking in a language different to his compatriots, is The Covey's use of Socialist terminology, memorised from textbooks. His constant quoting of Jenersky's Thesis is the best example in the play.

Home : Jack Clitheroe

[KatieMorag]

Sorry Joan, i was a bit touchy there! I thought you meant the Dublin accent but I see you were talking about the dialect of that particular time, which I expect has changed a lot. Sorry again for getting on my high-horse!

[KatieMorag]

I had actually bought the play - in fact, the trilogy in one volume - from Amazon before I even booked my trip, and it was only when I googled "things to do" that I discovered the play was on, and in fact finishes its run on the very day I arrive! So I shall be reading that one at least before my trip.

[joan mack]

I had actually bought the play - in fact, the trilogy in one volume - from Amazon before I even booked my trip, and it was only when I googled "things to do" that I discovered the play was on, and in fact finishes its run on the very day I arrive! So I shall be reading that one at least before my trip.

The Plays are sort of like music They reach a crescendo in Vulgarity and then just as music softens you get the most beautiful lyrical phrases that are totally irish and from the pen of a genius,

His plays were banned for many years mostly because of their vularity but it was the voice of the people at that time, This lovely song came from the play

[tolka1]

You are so right Joan about the dublinese in his plays.Yrs ago when the mot and I were home they took us to the abbey to see the shadow and I spent half my time explaining terms to the mot but she loved it anyway.If you are not around Dublin people it can be quite hard to understand the lingo and I have not been around Dublin people for yrs lol.I,m sometimes embarrassed even here when I hear some of the terms as I never heard them before lol.

[Rashers]

"The blinds is down Joxer, the blinds is down!"

Full version of Juno and The Paycock.

[Rashers]

Dublin Zoo and the 1916 Rising

On Easter Monday 24 April, as news of trouble in the city filtered through to Dublin Zoo, the visitors left quickly, as did most of the staff. The zoo remained closed until 13 May but the animals still had to be fed, the houses heated and the waste removed.

The superintendent, Dr Benjamin Banks Ferrar, was at work as usual in a city hospital. In his absence, his wife, Isabella, was responsible for the management of the zoo. Three young keepers stayed to help her.

On Tuesday 25 April, heavy firing in Phibsborough could be heard, and on Thursday 27 April rifle bullets passed over the gardens. Other than that, the violence in the city did not reach the zoo.

Normal record keeping was suspended but the Royal Zoological Society of Ireland (RZSI) annual report for 1916 contains an account of the zoo during the closure. The RZSI records before and after the Rising provide additional information.

The biggest challenge facing Isabella Ferrar and her small team was rationing the available food for the sizeable collection. The animal register for 1916 includes fourteen lions, five tigers, a gorilla, several chimpanzees, a hoolock gibbon, two elephants, bears, parrots, free-range fowl, snakes, reptiles and many other animals.

The records throw some light on the three keepers who helped Isabella. Jack Supple joined the zoo in 1902 and had worked with his father, Patrick (d.1913), the senior primate keeper. Jack Flood joined the zoo in 1901 and worked with his father, Christopher, the senior lion keeper. And Tommy Kelly, who joined the zoo in 1912 or 1913, was the son of the bird and reptile keeper. Between them they had a good range of skills and experience.

The restaurant stores were full in preparation for a busy Easter season and this food was used where possible. There must also have been plenty of hay in stock because there is no reference in the account about problems feeding the two elephants. The biggest difficulty was rationing the supply of horse meat for the carnivores and, despite good connections with the military and the police, there was no hope of getting any fresh meat to the zoo while fighting continued.

Dr Benjamin Banks Ferrar, a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps, had been caring for the wounded in city hospitals on a daily basis since April 1915. Although he lived in the zoo with his young family, he did not return until 4 May. Meanwhile, Professor George Carpenter, secretary of the RZSI, visited the zoo three times during Easter Week to support Isabella Ferrar.

By the end of Easter Week, the shortage of meat had reached a crisis point. Rather than kill some of the carnivores and share what little was left with the remainder, the decision was made to kill an old pony, a donkey, a goat and a few dingoes and use the meat to feed the valuable lions and tigers.

Early the following week, after the fighting had ceased, Professor Carpenter was able to arrange with the military for a delivery of horsemeat. A few days later, a gift of monkeys was received at the zoo. On Saturday 13 May, the zoo reopened and 19 members of RZSI council turned up. Normal activities, including record keeping, resumed.

The records of the Royal Zoological Society of Ireland (RZSI) (TCD MS 10608) are held in the Manuscripts & Archives Research Library, for more information please see the MARLOC Online catalogue.

Catherine de Courcy
Catherine’s book Dublin Zoo: an illustrated history. The Collins Press, 2009 is available to purchase from Dublin Zoo.


From HERE with photos.

[Eileen]

Wow! It's amazing what some people are willing to do for a cause they love. The animals were lucky to have them.