Celtic Night

by Bridget O'Dwyer

  “Where you off to?” he asked.

  “I’m walking down to Biddy’s for a little bit if that’s all right,” I asked.

  “No problem. If it’s dark when you’re coming home get Paul to give you a lift, alright?”

  “Okay, see you later.” I said, closing the door behind me. There wasn’t much action on the green. There were two little boys riding their bikes around, an old man leaning out over the wall in front of his house, and two girls and a boy sitting on top of a wall about four houses down from Jack’s. One of the girls looked vaguely familiar but I couldn’t make out her face very well. I had never seen the other girl. The boy hopped off the wall and began hitting a ball back and forth against it. He was using a short wooden stick, quite similar to a field hockey stick except it was much flatter and wider at the bottom. I had to pass them on my way and as I grew closer I clearly recognized the girl because she was in my class at school. She smiled at me and I stopped to properly introduce myself.

  “Hey, aren’t you in my class at school?” I asked awkwardly, approaching them, “Regina, right?”

  “Yea, how are you? I didn’t know you were living down here in Childers Park.”

  “I’m living with my Uncle Jack Ryan,” I said as I pointed to our house, number fifty-five.

  “Oh, right. Cool. How do you like the school?” she asked.

  “It’s all right so far I guess.” I told her. “I was just on my way down to my grandmother’s house, so I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said, about to walk away.

  “Wait,” the boy said calling after me. “Are you Nora’s and Eoghan’s cousin? I go to school with them.” I thought for a minute imagining Nora and Eoghan in my head.

  “Yes, I am. What’s your name?”

  “Oh, um, Declan. My name’s Declan,” he said, twirling the stick around in his hand. He was a bit shorter than me and looked a year younger. He had a round face with big green eyes, and his face was covered in freckles. I thought he was kind of cute.

  “Hi, I’m Sarah,” I said smiling at him and blushing slightly. He looked so innocent and sweet. “I’ll see you around,” I said waving to Regina and her friend. I smiled to myself as I was walking away because I knew Declan was still standing there watching me. I looked over my shoulder and he turned and ran back to Regina and her friend.

  When I arrived at Biddy’s, the yard was filled with commotion. Paul, James, Eoghan, and Bill were tossing around a Rugby ball, Nora was finishing up her work with Twiggy for the evening before she had to go home to do her school work, Eugene was holding Eimear so she could look at one of the horses inside the stables, and Mary’s husband, Joe, was in the kitchen eating his dinner. He kept his eyes on his plate and continued to eat. I stood there for a couple of seconds, feeling awkward in the silence, but I eventually walked down the hall where Biddy was just coming out of her bedroom.

  “Well Sarah, how are ya?” she asked, surprised to see me standing there.

  “I’m pretty good. I started school up at the Presentation on Monday, and I’ve made a couple of friends,” I said. She turned and headed back toward the kitchen. I followed close behind.

  “That’s great. And how’s everyone treating you in Childers Park?” she inquired.

  “Fine, everyone is fine. Jack and Una are great to me. They’re always trying to feed me,” I told her laughing.

  “That’s what the Irish are like. You’ll get used to it.” She asked me to go down to the shop for her and buy some Wine Gums. They were her favorite sweets and she was constantly eating them. She gave me some coins from a little leather pouch that she kept in the pocket of the cardigan she wore and told me to get whatever I wanted. On my way out of the house, I asked Paul if he wouldn’t mind giving me a ride home later and he gave me a nod and continued played ball with the boys. He asked me if I was going to the shop and soon I had orders from him, James and Eoghan. I said goodnight to Nora and Eugene, who were leaving to go home, and I crossed the street to the shop. I came back with Wine Gums for Biddy and chocolate, coke, and crisps for the boys. I grabbed a Cadbury’s Golden Crisp chocolate bar for myself. While Biddy and I ate our sweets, Mary arrived home from swimming laps at the pool. She came into the sitting room, followed by Eimear and Bill and joined me on the couch. A second later Joe came in and ordered Bill to get upstairs to get ready for bed because it was nearly eight o’clock. Around nine thirty Paul brought me home. I said “Goodnight” to Jack, who was still in the same spot in front of the T.V. I headed upstairs to my room and watched some T.V. while I tried to fall asleep.

  The next morning, I woke up with plenty of time to eat a breakfast of porridge and a cup of tea. I walked a different way to school hoping it would be faster. The girls were already off the bus waiting for me outside the bank. It was Wednesday and I could hardly wait to get to school for our two hours of Celtic Mythology. The girls thought it was strange how interested I was, but they agreed when I said, “It’s better than Math or Geography!”

  This particular January day in Thurles was quite cold. The wind was fierce, and when it hit my face it stung. Almost every girl who was walking into school that morning was wearing gloves and a hat along with a scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. An over-sized maroon school jacket completed my outfit. In spite of my disgust for the used uniform, jacket, and even scarf the school had “generously” given me, not to mention my hatred for the horrible color combination, I welcomed the layers that warmly bundled me up.

  Inside school we created a “strip club”. Everyone began peeling off the layers and we were finally able to breathe again. I saw Regina walking in the building with a group of girls whom I didn’t recognize, except for her friend from the wall the previous night. When they all parted and she walked into our classroom, I went over to her.

  “Hey,” I said to her as she ripped off her scarf, hat, and gloves. She continued as if she didn’t even notice I was standing in front of her speaking.

  “Maybe we can hang out sometime since we live near each other and all,” I said, realizing that I was already starting to sound extremely awkward. Finally she looked up to see who it was.

  “Oh, Hi Sarah. I didn’t know it was you there, I thought it was Maebh and I didn’t want to talk to her.” She fiddled in her desk for a notebook and a pencil.

  “Oh,” I laughed. “I know what you mean.”

  “You should definitely come out around the green after school and on the weekends. Me and the lads are always around,” she said.

  “Cool, yea I will definitely come out sometime,” I said excitedly. Kate, Deirdre, Sinead, Amy, Mairead, and Kiara all lived out towards the countryside, so I was relieved to have a possible friend close to where I was living.

  “So, it seemed that Declan had a certain liking for you yesterday, and he’ll be out around the green as well ya know, that is, if you’re interested,” she said with a sly grin on her face. “He’s an amazing hurler. Jack’s his coach!” She gave me a quick wink and spun around to the front of her desk just as Miss Dwyer entered the room. I had no idea what hurling was but she spun around so quickly I didn’t have a chance to ask her. Thankfully I remembered to stay standing, and finally, all at the same time, we sat down in our seats, as directed.

  I was distracted for the first half of class as I reviewed what Regina had said. I blushed at the thought of Declan having a crush on me.

  Miss Dwyer passed out pictures of the so-called Dullahans and Grogochs. The Dullahans are crazy horsemen who wear black robes. They may be seen riding dark and snorting stallions across the countryside at night. They carry frightening looking heads, which glow in the dark. As the stories became dark and terrifying, very few girls were able to sleep during class. Grogochs, in my opinion, are freaky looking things. They are small old men covered in red hair or fur. They have the power to be invisible and rarely come into sight. However, they are very sociable beings. If a Grogoch trusts you, he will help you. So, however odd they might look with their pointy ears and noses, they actuall
y mean well. Class flew by because all of us found the lecture incredibly interesting. As Miss Dwyer was about to leave the classroom and another teacher was entering, I hopped out of my seat to ask her a quick question.

  “Wait, Miss Dwyer. I have a question,” I said.

  “Yes Sarah?”

  “If these creatures are myths, then how are there pictures of them and stories about people seeing them?” I asked, slightly puzzled.

  “Well Sarah, you bring up a good point, but as a wise man once said, ‘Some say why dream, others say why not’?” She then winked and walked away. For the rest of the week, I was completely and utterly mystified by Miss Dwyer’s last words to me. The way she spoke and then winked made me wonder what she was trying to tell me. Was she implying that maybe these myths actually existed? That couldn’t be possible. Could it?

  Chapter 7

  The rest of the week flew by. I never had the chance to go hang out with Regina and her friends because the weather continued to be harsh. After school on Friday, I was on my way home and I caught a glimpse of the gorgeous mystery boy. He was gazing out the window of his bus and before I could be sure it was him, it began to drive off. I realized that I had forgotten to tell Sophie about him or Declan so I decided to go home, make a cup of tea, and write an e-mail about the two boys, both of whom I couldn’t seem to get out of my mind. Aisling and Grainne burst in the door of the bedroom and threw their bags on the ground. I had almost forgotten that they would be coming home from college this afternoon.

  “Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi! How are you pet? How was the first week of school?” Aisling screamed nearly making me spill my hot tea all over myself.

  “Ooo, Daddy told us he saw you talking to Declan the other day,” Grainne chimed in. “Oo la, la. He’s lovely, Sarah! He plays hurling for Daddy! He’s like a son to him. We’re friends with his older sisters and we’re going to find out if he fancies you!”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa. How many cups of coffee did you two have on the train ride home? Jesus, you’ve gone mad,” I said. “First, school is good. Second, Declan goes to school with Nora and Eoghan and we talked for like a second. Third, what is hurling? And fourth, he’s kind of cute. But that’s all!” I said laughing and falling into my pillow. Aisling was coyly grinning at me but strangely Grainne had a straight face.

  “What’s that look for?” I asked her.

  “You don’t know what hurling is?” she asked as if I should be ashamed of myself. “It’s Ireland’s national sport for God’s sake!”

  “Oh, so the wooden stick is used for hurling,” I said out loud remembering my confusion the other day.

  “We’re going to have to bring you to a match, this is just ridiculous. Has your daddy never talked to you about it?”

  “No, I guess not.”

  “All the lads played hurling growing up, I don’t know why he never told you. Well, anyways, we’re all going to be rooting for you to meet Declan, Daddy too, because he loves the chap,” Aisling said getting back to our original conversation.

  “I already have met him,” I told her.

  “No, no,” she said laughing at my naivety. “Like kissing him.”

  “Oh yea. I forgot what that meant,” I said laughing at myself.

  “Anyways, you comin’ out with us tomorrow night? We’re just going downtown to the pubs and what not. It will be good crack,” Grainne said, confusing me even more. I just smiled and nodded my head because I felt ridiculous asking any more questions. There should be a book or something, like, Irish Lingo for Beginners. I thought about what she had just said for a while. Good crack. What did that mean? After I contemplated the statement, and of course didn’t get anywhere, Jack called the three of us downstairs for dinner. We had chicken and chips, known to me as French fries. After dinner Grainne, Aisling, and I walked down to Biddy’s house. It had been two days since I had been down to see anyone. Unfortunately for me, Declan and a couple of his friends were outside playing hurling on the green. Not that I didn’t want to see him, I just feared what Aisling and Grainne would do. As soon as they saw the three of us leaving our yard, they stopped playing and ran over. Thankfully, I looked a lot nicer than the first time we had met. My hair was down and I had put on make-up after school. He ran over huffing and puffing with sweat beading on his forehead and smiled at me. I smiled back.

  “Hey, remember me, we met the other day,” I said sounding like a complete idiot. Of course, he wouldn’t remember. It wasn’t like we went on a date or something.

  “How could I forget,” he said to my surprise. I couldn’t tell whether he was blushing or whether the cold had made his cheeks rosy. “Where you off to?” he asked.

  “Oh, just down to my Grandmothers house with Grainne and Aisling.” They were standing off to the side talking with the other boys.

  “Well, I’m sure I’ll be around when you get back,” he winked at me and then called to the other boys to keep playing. We walked a great distance without talking so when Grainne and Aisling started rambling on, they hopefully wouldn’t hear.

  “We don’t even have to ask. He fancies you!” they yelped at the same time. I laughed but ignored their comments for the rest of the walk. They walked down to the shop and into the office to see Paul, but I decided to go up to the house. To my surprise, only Biddy was around. Mary must have been off with Nora and the kids somewhere and Joe wasn’t home from work yet. Biddy was sitting in her usual spot in the kitchen reading the newspaper and having a cup of tea. I sat down in the seat across the table from her.

  “Do you want a cup of tea, Sarah? Or, how about some brown bread? I made it fresh this morning.”

  “I’m all right. I just ate my dinner down at Jack’s house, so I’m stuffed.”

  “Right, gotcha,” she said taking a sip of her tea. “So, any news for me?” she asked.

  “Nope, none at all really,” I said. “Aisling and Grainne are down at the shop talking to Paul,” I told her.

  “Oh right. And how is school going for you?” she asked.

  “Well actually I really like it. But don’t tell anyone,” I told her laughing. “I’m learning all about Celtic mythology. It’s really interesting.”

  “Have you learned about the Banshee yet?” Biddy asked, taking her voice down to a low and petrifying tone.

  “No, I don’t think so, why?” I asked curiously.

  “Well,” she began, placing her newspaper down on the table, “when I was a child, the boy who lived in the house next to mine went crazy. Nobody knew what had happened, but I knew. I had read about this sort of thing happening in ancient Ireland. One night he snuck out in the middle of the night to follow a piercing wail coming from the fields. He claimed he saw a washerwoman in the middle of the field, covered in blood. He ran home, scared stiff of what he had seen and never spoke about anything else again. He told the same story over and over. He stayed in bed, fearing the banshee. It was horrible. I was a curious child and I read a lot. I also did just what we are doing here. My grandmother told me stories and I learned from them. I was amazed by what I knew had happened that night.” I was extremely frightened by what Biddy had just told me. But before I could ask questions Paul, Grainne, and Aisling burst through the door.

  “What do you have that look on your face for?” Grainne asked of my wide-eyed jaw-dropped face. I snapped out of it quickly and assured her that nothing was wrong.

  “We’re going to get a video for tonight,” Aisling said. “Want to come along for the ride?”

  “No, I’ll just trust your judgment to pick a good flick,” I told them, and they left.

  “Wow, Biddy, is that really true?”

  “Only that poor boy knows what he saw and if it was real,” she said getting up from her chair and walking towards the hallway door. “I’m wrecked. I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight,” I replied.

  I realized I didn’t feel like watching a movie and decided to start walking back to the park. It wasn’t quite dark yet, so I knew i
t would be fine if I walked home. I thought about the banshee the whole way home and grew to be incredibly frightened. When I was nearly at the house, I felt a hand on my shoulder. My heart skipped a beat and I let out an enormous scream.

  “Sarah.” I turned around to see that Declan had run after me. “Are you all right?”

  “Jesus, you nearly scared me to death. What are you doing?”

  “Not much at all,” he said looking deep into my eyes. “Want to take a walk?”

  I was unsure if it was a smart idea because I didn’t know him at all, but he seemed harmless, so I agreed.

  “Let me catch my breath for a second,” I said leaning on the wall. We hopped over a small stonewall that separated the backs of the houses from a field.

  “So, how are you liking Thurles so far?” he said trying to make conversation with me.

  “I like it a lot. I love my family here and everything.”

  “That’s good.” We walked in silence for a while. When he finally started talking again he asked me all about America. He seemed genuinely interested in me. He wondered where I was from and what it was like.

  “It’s so different from Ireland. The school is different, the people are different, the whole way of life is different,” I tried to explain to him. “The school is more formal. The people are more natural and welcoming. Life seems more balanced with time out of doors, time to talk with family, and time to be with friends. Well..what about you? Who exactly is Declan?”

  “Well let’s see, here’s my life in a nutshell,” he began. I watched him talk. The way his mouth moved and the words rolled off his tongue made this foreign accent that I sometimes didn’t even understand. “I go to school at the Christian Brothers, I play Hurling, I’ve got two older sisters and a younger brother, I like to go out on the weekends with the lads, and I hate Brussels sprouts. That’s my life summed up for you,” he said. I laughed at the Brussels sprouts comment. “Now you go,” he said, implying that I now had to sum up my life for him.