Will politicians look for DREXIT - Drogheda to leave Co Louth!

Dear Sir,

Alice Curtayne writes in her book Francis Ledwidge: A Life of the Poet of a young Francis and his friends being sent, with cattle, to the Port of Drogheda. Quoting Ledwidge “There was enmity in the hearts of the Mell boys against any lad from the country, and only by our United forces could we hope to pass that quarter unscathed.”

The Mell boys were an insular lot. Bordered as it is by Waterunder, Drybridge to the west, Simcox lane to the east, the Boyne to the south and a part of the North Road It formed a latterday Hadrian’s Wall protecting the gentle women of Drogheda from roving horny handed countrymen seeking the pleasures of the flesh. Men who would not hesitate to seduce timid, innocent maidens with sweet words. Having had their wicked way they would not even cuddle afterwards.

If rather than placing their faith in the frail Curtain walls surrounding the town in 1649 the City Fathers had placed a half a dozen young lads from Mell on the Mollies Cromwell might have had second thoughts about attacking the town. Placing Tom Reilly, who has Mell ancestors, in the vanguard would have further protected the Walls as there is no man, born of woman, who has been the target of so much cannon and shrapnel fire. Yet he still battles on like an Old Testament prophet. A voice in the wilderness unappreciated in his own town.

While Mell was part of Tullyallen Parish, once a village of the squinting windows and begrudgery, the menfolk of that area were subject to the same enmity. While to the casual observer the behaviour might seem senseless there was a very real and necessary reasoning behind it. Just as the strongest and fastest sperm is the one to penetrate the ova only the strongest men could overcome the barriers placed in their way. Only the strongest, most virile and fittest were deemed worthy to mate with the women of the town.

My own father not only passed through Mell but he even crossed the river to “Dooley Gate” increasing the IQ of the area a thousandfold. I was raised, though not to any great height, in Marian Park. The area where myself and Tom Reilly, were reared was pronounced Murrian Purrk. In my youth I heard stories of the Jungle where legend had it they ate their newborn babies raw. It was a brave man who ventured North of the river, here be dragons, to the FaaSide especially in search of comely maidens. Comely they were, maidens ooops pardon me I digress.

The simple reason for the enmity was that they were country chaps, ruddy of face and full bellies, though I won’t rule out the notion of a few bowsies in Trinity St.. When I was young there was great enmity between Clogher and Termonfeckin, Monasterboice and Tullyallen, town and country. Townies without an arse in their pants needed someone to look down upon.

Historically we were a nation of clans. Every townland was ruled by its own penny farthing “King”. More kings than hot breakfasts. The only time we had a 32 county Republic was under Cromwell. Outsiders were view with suspicion which led to fear hence aggression. Think of the GAA, parish against parish, county against county. Blues and the Raths, Dreadnoughts and everyone else. In soccer the Drogheda United and Dundalk enmity should ease as next season they are unlikely to meet in competitive league matches.

When mans ancestors first climbed out of the primordial slime he looked around and thought I don’t like the look of that slimy slug from further up the ooze. Later there was aggression between tree dwellers and as we developed and left the safety of the bush it was colony against colony. We became civilised and built cities with walls to protect the inhabitants while we attacked neighbouring cities. City States became countries became Empires and wars became bigger.

Wilfred Owen and Francis Ledwidge and millions of other young men died and while life goes on we really have learned nothing from past mistakes. Even today young lads in housing estates like to see themselves as protecting their turf against outsiders. Louth politicians wanting parts of Meath.

I am amazed, thus far that certain local politicians have not started a DREXIT campaign calling on us to leave Co.Louth. After all there is a local election next year and the BS political campaigning has begun. Yours, Gerry Floyd. Mell.