Jimmy's Hall Page #5

and the other 75 percent will be

tuning into the radio from Athlone,

a country supremely united

in faith, in love and respect,

for Christ's representative on earth.

Have a look at that painting.

Democratic Irish State,

true to its traditions.

In harmony with its people

and under the guidance of the one

true universal Apostolic Church.

That is the natural way.

Now, sit down.

You know my family are

believers. My sister is a nun.

I said the rosary in solidarity with

fighters during the War of Independence.

"Love thy neighbour"

is revered in my book too.

In our hall, we respect freedom

of religion and conscience.

Tell that to the Soviets who have

murdered Christians in their thousands.

And don't get me started on

Joseph Stalin's secret prisons,

and that famine

that's on the horizon.

Don't get me started either, Father.

That is a long debate to be had.

But today, can we talk about the hall

and just listen to what we have to say?

I am not a politician.

No deals in dingy corners.

No half measures.

No compromise. There's no...

A question, please, Reverend Father.

When was the last time you

really listened to someone else?

Actually, it was last

night at confessions.

I listen to the innermost secrets

and fears of our community.

People open their hearts to me.

Not the man, but the priest,

in a way unknown

to your... imagination.

Look at these hands, Father.

Dirt under the fingernails.

I'm no scholar.

I've been a soldier, a sailor,

a docker, a miner,

on the seas and underground.

I've seen much and

made many a mistake,

but despite all our flaws,

I believe in my neighbour,

my fellow man, my class.

Meeting up and struggling to

understand our lives as best we can.

On our own, in isolation, we perish.

The hall is a safe space

where we can think, talk, learn,

listen and laugh and dance.

It's a good place.

If I were a believer like you,

I'd call it a holy place.

It brings out the best in us.

Don't be frightened.

Come along, meet us.

Talk to us, question us,

but work with us.

There is enough misery

in the world already.

Oh, you are a believer, Jimmy.

Yes, you are.

And part of me holds you

in very high esteem.

So, yes, I will come along and

listen to you and your trustees,

once you have brought me

the title deeds to the hall,

and have them transferred

over to Holy Mother Church.

I take it back, Father. You do listen,

but only when we're on our knees.

A flight of Free State aeroplanes

flying in the form of a cross

escorted the special boat.

And then Cardinal

Lauri stepped ashore,

the first Papal Legate to land in

Ireland for over two centuries.

Accompanied by Mr de Valera

and his ministers...

he inspected the Guard of Honour,

followed by his retinue of Vatican

officials in Elizabethan dress.

The streets along the route

had been thronged for hours

before the Papal Legate was due,

and he received a

tumultuous reception.

Sweeney...

There's Gralton!

Mossie Maguire.

Tommy Gilroy. You rats!

Move on, you fascists.

- You shouldn't be here.

- Sweeney, get out and let us watch...

I said get out and let

us watch the film.

- Antichrist!

- Atherton.

In spite of dungeon, fire and sword

Sing, boys!

Don't encourage them.

Watch the film, ignore 'em.

Get out, Sweeney. We've watched

your propaganda, now go home.

Faith of our fathers, holy faith!

- We will be true to thee till death

- Thank you.

We will be true to thee till death

Yeah, go on. Go on home.

Get back to your Yankee

friends, you Red bastards!

Whoa there, Dixie. Whoa, whoa.

- Good man, Mossie.

- Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Mossie, I've left my bike at the hall,

so I'll make my own way home.

Youse mind yourselves, then.

They'll be looking for us.

The witch hunt has started.

You two, be careful.

Likewise. Good luck.

Look after yourselves.

Get on, Dixie.

Lock the door.

- Keep your back turned.

- What?

- I hope you're not looking.

- I wouldn't dare.

You can look now.

Fits perfectly.

Why wouldn't it?

You take my breath away.

I think my heart is going to break.

Firstly, I just wanted

to thank you all

for agreeing to meet with us today.

It's about a fella called Milmoe.

Molly, that's the wife, there outside.

Erm, he's in a dire situation.

He's looking for the

Roscommon IRA to help him.

He's been forcibly evicted out of

his cottage on the Kingston estate.

We had an angry meeting

last night, a big split.

A third of us want to

reinstate him by force.

A third want nothing to do with it.

And there's a third sitting on the fence.

And he has the best of connections.

He has the guards. He has the army.

He has the ranchers

and the politicians.

Not just the local ones,

but the bigwigs.

There's some tough

boys on this estate.

His agent's a vicious bastard.

A bad egg.

That's a feckin' handful,

all right. Bejaysus, yeah.

But there's five children out

there on the side of the road,

and a woman outside this

hall bawling her eyes out,

unless any of you want

to go out and see her.

Now... things aren't too

great with ourselves.

We're not as strong as

what we used to be.

Truth be told,

there's very few of us.

Even our OC doesn't even

know we're here today.

But you know what we know,

what's going on out there.

There's a queer fear out

there amongst the people,

and something's going to

have to be done about it.

So, what do you want from us?

We need your help to reinstate them.

There'll be a big turnout

if we can spread the word

that Jimmy Gralton and his

supporters from Leitrim are coming.

It isn't just about the reinstatement.

It's much more important than that.

It's about the message we send

out there to the wider community.

Think about what could be done.

That's why it's important.

And that's why it's important,

Jimmy, that you speak to the crowd.

- Can someone else not speak?

- No, it has to be Jimmy.

He's got the words,

he's got the spake.

He's got the confidence and

trust of the people out there,

and with all due respect

to the rest of you here,

you wouldn't pull a quarter of

the support of what Jimmy would.

It has to be Jimmy that speaks.

What do you think?

Well, I think that every journalist

from the local press will be there.

I think they'll note your words,

which will spread like wildfire,

and be seen as a direct challenge to

landed estates throughout the country.

That's why we must win this one.

Yeah, and why...

and why they need to.

You know what'll happen, Jimmy.

It's hard to judge, but...

they could come after

you again, Jimmy.

No, there's no "could"

about it, Dessie.

They will. Of course they will.

And they'll close down

the hall. It's suicide.

Well, we don't know

that for certain, Mossie.

I mean, you know, it's not

the time for pessimism.

I-I'm not a pessimist. I'm a realist.

I know the way these bastards are.

I'm on a, still, on a blacklist, Sean,

for ten years. Ten feckin' years!

No, I know that and, look,

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