Upcoming Events

Galway | Anti-War / Imperialism

no events match your query!

New Events

Galway

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link News Round-Up Fri Aug 22, 2025 00:43 | Toby Young
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.

offsite link Record 111,000 Claims From Asylum Seekers in Labour?s First Year Thu Aug 21, 2025 19:04 | Toby Young
Applications for asylum were up 14% on the previous 12 months after a surge in migrants reaching Britain in small boats, according to official figures. So much for Labour's promise to "smash the gangs".
The post Record 111,000 Claims From Asylum Seekers in Labour?s First Year appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link GCSE Pass Rate For English and Maths Lowest in Decade Thu Aug 21, 2025 17:00 | Toby Young
Just 58.3% of all pupils across the UK passed their maths GCSE this year, down from 59.5% last year and the lowest since 2013. But the percentage of students getting the highest grades was higher in free schools than other schools.
The post GCSE Pass Rate For English and Maths Lowest in Decade appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Truth About Britain?s Wildfires Thu Aug 21, 2025 15:00 | Paul Homewood
It is simplistic to blame the recent spike in wildfires on climate change, writes Paul Homewood. A more likely cause is the rewilding of uplands, supposedly to cut carbon emissions, and poor management of forested land.
The post The Truth About Britain?s Wildfires appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Lucy Connolly and Ricky Jones: the System Worked as Intended Thu Aug 21, 2025 13:00 | Nick Rendell
Lucy Connolly's jail sentence versus Ricky Jones's acquittal shows not two-tier justice but two-tier laws ? the system worked as intended, says Nick Rendell.
The post Lucy Connolly and Ricky Jones: the System Worked as Intended appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

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

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

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

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

offsite link 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

category galway | anti-war / imperialism | opinion/analysis author Thursday April 13, 2023 19:57author 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

© 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