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On Duty And “It’s About Life, Death And A Packet Of Digestives.”
I did a small bit of amateur acting many decades ago but I don’t have any talents required by a thespian . . . except, I have the ability to belch to order. Why am I telling you this? Well, Hollywood didn’t call or even Dunlavin. But when Wiggleywoo film company was starting production on its first animated feature film, Tea with the Dead, the director, animator, designer and script-writer, Gary Gill tracked me down and asked me to do the voice of one of the characters; not because I have a rough, regional accent but because one of the characters, as written by Gary, is required to belch. In the film Frank Finnegan is a Funeral director/embalmer in the village of Ballyconneely, Connemara but his practice is not run of the mill. No. After he has disinfected, embalmed, washed and dressed the dead he has another unusual mission. He makes them a cup of tea and then brings them back to life. They talk and laugh over tea and biscuits, and basically tell their life story before Frank coffins them and sends them on their way. There are some interesting and amusing incidents before they reach the cemetery.
This film is a spin-off of a short award-winning film of the
same name that the company made in 2014. It was broadcast on TG4 and
won best animation at festivals in Raindance and Rhode Island and was
screened at festivals around the world.
Tea with the Dead is essentially Irish but its characters, its storytelling, its location and its language has a universal theme. Gary told me, “The short hit a chord with our audiences all over the world, people cried, people laughed and people loved it. “
The ‘corpses” that Frank speaks to in the feature film
all have sad stories but there is an uplifting joyous ending. When the
multi-talented Gary was asked by an interviewer what this film is all
about his reply was a masterclass in brevity, “It’s about life, death and a packet of digestives.”
In fact it is a charming story that takes the viewer through the five
stages of grief with the main character Frank Finnegan, voiced by Colm
Meaney, “interviewing” the dead characters.
Watch out for Tea with the Dead. It is
quintessentially an Irish film but its characters, its storytelling, its
location and its language has a universal theme of grief and love. And
you may pick up a trick or too on how to interview a corpse.
* * * * *
There has been no scarcity of literary figures in An Garda
Siocháná, from various ranks. Muiris O’ Suilleabhain, Dick Farrelly,
Tony Guiran and John Duggan to mention but a few. However, On Duty is
the first memoir by a retired Assistant Commissioner. This work is
basically the life story of John O’ Driscoll, Retired Assistant
Commissioner.
It is a very well-written account of this dynamic man’s rise
in the ranks from his first day in Templemore Training College on 30th
June 1981 to his retirement as an Assistant Commissioner on 28th June
2022.
John O’ Driscoll brings the reader through his days on the
beat, gravel crunching, and making inroads into a solution to the heroin
epidemic in Dublin’s inner when stationed in Store Street Station to
standing, on 15th May 2022, attired in the uniform of Assistant
Commissioner, An Garda Siocháná, on the National Mall in Washington DC,
preparing to mark the lives and deaths of those who had died on Duty.
From the day he joined he saw room for reform and without naming “the
heavy-gang” he made it clear that a change in the rules of interrogation
was necessary. He was quick to notice that at the time he joined most
convictions were the result of confessions.
From being at the wrong end of a sawn-off shotgun and
using an unorthodox method the recover a stolen Walkie-Talkie an account
of his career is given in minute detail.
He began the Assistant Commissioner role during the
deadly gang feud between rival drug cartels in Dublin in 2016 and lead
operations against groups in Ireland during the final years of his
service as Assistant Commissioner for Special Crime Operations
John died suddenly on 27th September 2024, just one month before the publication of this book.
Garda Commission Drew Harris described John as, “An
outstanding member of An Garda Síochána. Throughout his 41 years of
stellar service, John worked tirelessly to protect the most vulnerable
in society and was a great advocate for the power of sport, particularly
boxing, in helping and supporting children from deprived areas.. ."
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said she was, “very sad and shocked” at the loss and went on to describe him as a
“man who manifested integrity and decency, completely dedicated to
public service and to serving the State to the very best of his
considerable ability. Throughout his career he mentored scores of
Gardaí, built strong teams, and played a leading role in devising and
implementing An Garda Síochána’s partnership with international law
enforcement in tackling the scourge of organised crime groups,”
Taoiseach Simon Harris said “John was a distinguished member of An Garda Síochána who served the force with such integrity”.
In a statement Harris said: “Throughout his 41 years
of stellar service, John worked tirelessly to protect the most
vulnerable in society and was a great advocate for the power of sport,
particularly boxing, in helping and supporting children from deprived
areas.”
In recent years, he was to the forefront in Garda
successes against organised crime. This work helped save lives and
protect communities from the scourge of drugs.
This work is full of acronyms but the author had the
foresight to include a glossary. I for one wouldn’t have guessed that
OFAC meant Office of Foreign Assets Control or that an ESDA was an
electrostatic detection apparatus.
And John O’ Driscoll had wonderful turn of phrase, so the
book is loadable with quotable lines. When describing his formula for
dealing with international criminal organisations he says, "Anything can be unravelled if you pick at the right threads.”
On Duty is published by Gill Books is an education in
the workings of the Irish police and covers ground that not one Garda,
before O’ Driscoll, even touched on. In the words of Conor Brady former
editor of The Irish Times it is, “Quite without precedent.”
My native village/townland of Lacken in west Wicklow has a
school, a pub, a church and a community centre and a population of 200.
If the powers that be in any similar place in the USA would like to twin
with Lacken please let me know.
See you in March.
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