Page 11 of Celtic Dragon
“Great-great-grandparents? Women too?”
“Yeah, you’d be surprised at the number of women involved with the rebels, even back then.”
“Holy shit. What did they do with the ones that were captured?”
Rebel shrugs. “While some were taken to internment camps or prisons in England, the leaders were executed. Our great-great-grandparents were among the leaders. They executed them both.”
“Fuck. What were their names?” I never knew that they had even existed, but the fact that they died for something that they had believed in so strongly makes me curious to learn as much about them as I can.
“Sean and Sloane Mooney.”
Mooney, I think.Agood strong name.
“From what I’m told by my parents and my brothers, their death lit a fire under other members of our family who were not so involved in the IRA. Suddenly, our family’s involvement grew. Their main goal was to avenge their deaths.
“In 1922, the IRA disbanded after they signed a treaty with the British government. But that didn’t stop the rebels. Our family still sought out its revenge and so they joined forces with the anti-treaty followers, which resulted in the Irish Civil War.”
“Is there still a civil war going on in Ireland?” I asked.
“Yes and no.”
“Rebel, that tells me nothing.”
“I know. It’s hard to explain.”
“Well, if you want me to go to this godforsaken country, then you better give me more. ‘Cause right now, I’m thinking it’s best to keep my ass right here.”
“Ok, fine. The civil war continued through the years and our grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles were always at the forefront of the cause. These rebels refused to accept that Britain still maintained control of the north and continued fighting for 40 years until they split in 1969, when the Troubles began.”
“The Troubles?” I ask. He keeps making references to things that I’ve never heard of and don’t understand. I’m an educated man, but fuck, we never talked about this shit in school. It makes me think about how much our kids’ education is dictated by the administrators of the schools and our government. We learn about what they want us to learn about.
“Yeah, the Troubles. It started with a series of riots in Northern Ireland and continued for 40 years. That’s when our grandfather left the cause and went to the States with our grandmother, your dad, and my mom.
“Draco Corrigan was a sniper with the anti-treaty IRA. Draco Corrigan—or the Dragon, as he was referred to—was probably the best sniper on our side of the cause.” He pauses, allowing me to let all of this sink in. Then he continues, “From what I have been told, he eventually realized that no cause was more important than his wife and children. So he left. And the day he left was the day the Troubles began.”
“Holy shit! Rebel, what the fuck are we walking into?” I ask. I had no idea that Ireland was a pot of violence that had been boiling over for centuries. Now I understand the uneasiness that Emma and I had been feeling. “And your parents are involved in this mayhem?”
“Yes, they are, deeply involved. So involved that they sent me here. They didn’t know at the time that Ace had been killed. They just wanted a better life for me, or so they said.”
“Fuck!” I look over at Hawk and say, “Do you think we should bring the whole club?” I was beginning to worry that the four brothers I was planning to take weren’t gonna be enough for what has to be done.
“Have you called Declan?” he asks.
Declan is the president of the Knights MC in Belfast. “Not yet. I was planning on calling him tonight.”
“I think you need to engage the club in Belfast. We need the guys here too and I don’t think you should spread us too thin. You never know what might happen with the Satans. Thanks to you, our relations are moving in the right direction, but they’re still on shaky ground. I think four of you should suffice, as long as you’ve got Declan’s help as backup,” Hawk replies.
“Yeah, I’m beginning to think you are right.” I pause briefly and then add, “Not a word of any of this to Emma. She is worried enough and I don’t want her knowing about all this violence. She has enough on her plate right now. You got me?”
“Yeah, I hear ya,” Rebel replies.
“You know I won’t say a word,” Hawk says.
“That goes for my sister and Honey as well. The girls don’t need to be worrying about us.” They both nod. I look at my watch: 10:30 am. “Church in a half hour, boys. Let’s get over to Kandi’s.”
The rest of the club is already at Kandi’s and waiting for us when we get there. Before I start the meeting I pull Dbag aside and ask, “What did you find?”
“Nothing. Not a damn thing, Ice.”
