LordMithras
Really Really Experienced
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2008
- Posts
- 334
Dublin, 1916 (immediately after the Easter Rising against British rule in Ireland):
So, they had left him for dead. A professional soldier and revolutionary, a comrade in the Great Cause, and his brethren in the Irish Volunteers had simply deserted him. Well, that was no surprise. Not even the bravest of men can hold out forever against such an assault, and the British had captured the lot of them. Liam was lucky, in fact. He had avoided arrest, which was good, because if caught, he'd have been shot for certain.
Why? Because Liam Fergus O'Callaghan was more than simply an insurgent. He was a deserter from His Majesty's armies (well, Her Majesty Queen Victoria's at the time of his defection to the Boer side of the Boer War). He had seen a chance to get revenge at the Brits for hanging his Uncle Kenneth as a Fenian.
Well, in fact, revenge for what all of the bloody English done to Ireland for centuries now. The injustices, the oppression, the famine (which wouldn't have starved so many Irish if so much food hadn't been exported overseas instead of made available to the Irish people)....the damned rents, landlords, and absentee system. The anti-Catholic laws, although Liam wasn't much of a Catholic. He didn't really care for how God ruled the Universe, so he largely ignored the Lord.
He had spent time in the French Foreign Legion, but he had left that as well, not wishing to serve another regime that he despised. The French might have been secular and republican, but they were as oppressive toward their colonies, if not more so, than any Englishman. Their treatment of the Arabs revolted him, as did their blatant anti-Semitism. Besides, with his complexion, exposure to the desert sun was a bad idea to the third power. Like most Irishmen, he was as pale and pasty as a sheet, since he burned but couldn't tan.
He had heard too much about Spain to join the Spanish Foreign Legion, either. In fact, he had spent much time fighting for rebellions and insurgencies against colonial rulers and reactionary governments wherever he could find them. Finally, however, he returned to his native land and began his active part in the struggle against the British Empire. The IRB and Sinn Fein were alright, but when war broke out, he wanted to do something violent to hurt England when they could least afford it. He couldn't fight for the Kaiser, who was just another colonial master, but he could openly rebel against London.
And, so, he had joined the Irish Volunteers....had joined, fought in the Easter Rising, and was now a fugitive twice over, running for the nearest tavern for hiding until the Brits forgot about him. Luckily, they didn't recognise him, or they would have made sure that he was dead.
He rested, drank his ale, and contemplated his future, in the wake of the British victory. They would crack down hard again, no doubt of it. They always did, right after a rebellion had failed. But presumably now, they were still vulnerable, and if one fought smarter, one could still deal them a fatal blow, or collection of blows. But how to do it? How to crush British rule, after all?
So, they had left him for dead. A professional soldier and revolutionary, a comrade in the Great Cause, and his brethren in the Irish Volunteers had simply deserted him. Well, that was no surprise. Not even the bravest of men can hold out forever against such an assault, and the British had captured the lot of them. Liam was lucky, in fact. He had avoided arrest, which was good, because if caught, he'd have been shot for certain.
Why? Because Liam Fergus O'Callaghan was more than simply an insurgent. He was a deserter from His Majesty's armies (well, Her Majesty Queen Victoria's at the time of his defection to the Boer side of the Boer War). He had seen a chance to get revenge at the Brits for hanging his Uncle Kenneth as a Fenian.
Well, in fact, revenge for what all of the bloody English done to Ireland for centuries now. The injustices, the oppression, the famine (which wouldn't have starved so many Irish if so much food hadn't been exported overseas instead of made available to the Irish people)....the damned rents, landlords, and absentee system. The anti-Catholic laws, although Liam wasn't much of a Catholic. He didn't really care for how God ruled the Universe, so he largely ignored the Lord.
He had spent time in the French Foreign Legion, but he had left that as well, not wishing to serve another regime that he despised. The French might have been secular and republican, but they were as oppressive toward their colonies, if not more so, than any Englishman. Their treatment of the Arabs revolted him, as did their blatant anti-Semitism. Besides, with his complexion, exposure to the desert sun was a bad idea to the third power. Like most Irishmen, he was as pale and pasty as a sheet, since he burned but couldn't tan.
He had heard too much about Spain to join the Spanish Foreign Legion, either. In fact, he had spent much time fighting for rebellions and insurgencies against colonial rulers and reactionary governments wherever he could find them. Finally, however, he returned to his native land and began his active part in the struggle against the British Empire. The IRB and Sinn Fein were alright, but when war broke out, he wanted to do something violent to hurt England when they could least afford it. He couldn't fight for the Kaiser, who was just another colonial master, but he could openly rebel against London.
And, so, he had joined the Irish Volunteers....had joined, fought in the Easter Rising, and was now a fugitive twice over, running for the nearest tavern for hiding until the Brits forgot about him. Luckily, they didn't recognise him, or they would have made sure that he was dead.
He rested, drank his ale, and contemplated his future, in the wake of the British victory. They would crack down hard again, no doubt of it. They always did, right after a rebellion had failed. But presumably now, they were still vulnerable, and if one fought smarter, one could still deal them a fatal blow, or collection of blows. But how to do it? How to crush British rule, after all?
