The Ulster Crow

The throttle was the signal it was time to say goodbye
To "the mountains and the gantries" and Mc Cooeys.
And the chimneys crowded in as we veered across the line
Rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat, to Antrim.
"Up the airy mountain and down the rushy glen,"
A matchbox of a station and no wee men.
And rat-a-tat-tat. rat-a-tat-tat out along the line to Ballymena.
No sign of St. Patrick, or pilgrims from the hill,
Just the dry growl of diesel and red brick chill.
And the full time whistle that sent us on our way,
Past ruminating Friesians and steers coloured honey
North to Cullybackey and the townland of Money.
But Coleraine was where the action was, a regular little hive,
With its spiky little fascias and factual Ulster tones:
"Change here for Portstewart and Portrush."
And iron wheeled trolleys sleeping on the cobbles.
Out we'd go between the gates the traffic standing still
Rat-a-tat-tat. rat-a-tat-tat, over the bridge, over the Bann.
And we'd peep out the window looking for the thrill,
Looming ever larger, Downhill.
Rat-a-tat-tat in the darkness. Rat-a-tat-tat in the light.
Rat-a-tat-tat in the darkness, and out into the light
Of the brash rolling Atlantic and cabins tumbling: Downhill.
And lifeless Castlerock and Ballirina.
Then rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat, south-west across the plain.
And straight across the runway in our clapped out train.
Then cranking along the river bank, the maiden hills in view.
Past where St. Columba left a footprint with his shoe.
We edged along the Waterside, the lie less than true.
But with the "oak grove" near, we were free from fear -
And hours of boredom.

__________

© Cormac McCloskey

Mc Cooey's: A fictional Belfast family created by the actor and playwright Joseph Tomelty, and popularised on the "wireless" in the late 1940s and 50s. Here, symbolic of the people of Belfast. "the mountains and the gantry's", from Carrickfergus, by Louis MacNeice. "Up the airy mountain..." from The Fairies, by William Allingham. Ballymena: 10km from Slemish, where St. Patrick spent his youth as a slave. "The townland of money": Alluding to Ballymoney the town after Culleybackey. bally meaning, "the townland of". Derry is otherwise known as the maiden city. In those days, as the train approached the city it tilted at a precarious angle towards the River Foyle. But "Waterside" has a double meaning here, because it is also the suburb of the City where the journey ends. Derry: In translation is "oak grove".