  | Warwick Dalzell
Warwick was born in Co Down and taught for a time in Northern Ireland. He sought his fortune in Africa, but returned home penniless. After another stint at the chalkface, he went to London. There he met Peter O'Loughlin who advised him to head for Australia, where he lived on and off for forty years. He is now a frequent pilgrim to the old country. |
'69 by Warwick Dalzell |
[While the Apprentice Boys paraded in Derry
On the twelfth of August,1969
I was sailing on the Indian Ocean ,
Blissfully unaware of unfolding events,
Halfway between Africa and Oz.]
‘The Orangemen have stormed Derry 's walls
And captivated the city'
Cried a confused passenger.
‘The shops are burning
And the Protestants are hammering
The police.
The Catholics are besieged
In the side bog.
But the boy apprentices
Have opened the gates and
Are attacking them with pennies.
What can we do to help?'
What indeed, I thought,
Bewildered.
In forty nine chaotic words
He had turned on its head
The one constant
In my life -
One myth of Irish history
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