At_Last

extract it, only got it in deeper, "But does the poet want to communicate or not? I mean, it's like taking coals to Newcastle.", another badly selected reference followed by a group groan. Now babbling, "OK OK. Wait. I mean, OK, if he wants to be EFFECTIVE, I mean, you know, like, change minds rather than cement old relationships, then new ears have to hear it. Yes? Right? Like, they sure as hell ain't gonna be learning Gaelige! No? Why sell ice to Eskimos?". That was better than Newcastle, but still pretty shabby. Deadly silence followed. "Anyway,", I muttered, trying to extract myself, "If he's pissed at the English, he could translate it into American. You know? English is only one of a whole bunch of dialects. Right?". I could see that the mysterious fellow was thrown by this argument and visibly disturbed. My lady friend was giving me serious kicks in the ankle, so I apologized to him for my inappropriate remarks, but he waved me off and left after a brief conversation, in Irish, with one of the men in our party. I caught my name being tossed, but didn't pursue it. Eight months later, I received a package of poems with notations, philosophic statements, and historical fragments, but with NO INSTRUCTIONS ! Clearly they were from Gavin McGuiness via an intermediary. McGuiness in 'American' IN HIS OWN WORDS! Now what? Obviously I had to learn more about this man, whom I had once only heard of in the news as a terrorist. G. F. E. McGuiness is the pen name of Gavin McGuiness. When spoken by the right people, the G.F.E. part sounds like 'Gaffy'. The "F.E." portion of his name is derived, somehow, from an utterly obscure and unpronounceable Gaelige freedom war cry. My sources have given up trying to explain it to me. It defies spelling. My first detailed information about his past came to me through correspondence with Maeve McLonighan. Ms. McLonighan is a most respected Irish historian who investigated the mound mystery rather thoroughly and whose work on Tara is now a classic. She was, as a child, a close and intimate friend of a cousin of Gavin McGuiness and grew up in the very place where his travail began - near Bogside, Derry. Her quest into academic historical forensics began as a personal curiosity to sort out the truth of the pro and anti McGuiness tales which abounded in her county. Satisfying that curiosity took a level of scientific skill and logical prowess that would rival Sherlock Holmes. Gavin McGuiness was and is a wanted man. His alleged 'crimes' stem from his jail break even though he was not jailed for a valid reason. His jailing is related to three things. He was a good writer of a politically unpopular topic, his fiancee was taboo, and his father was his father. Officially, he was 'held for questioning' relating to his 'IRA support'. That turns out to be merely his vocal and editorial opposition to the abuses of power the local police

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