It was June 1997; Danny "MadStab" O' Driscoll marched defiantly down the corridor towards the court. The young man, with his hands cuffed was lead back to hear his sentence. He had been ejected earlier that afternoon for protesting his guilty verdict, despite the overwhelming evidence against him. Now it was time to pass sentence. The Judge pondered his decision as he ordered that the Arsonist be brought back to face the packed court which included Sister Michael, Father Peter, Sister Josephine, Miss Mooney and Chief Constable Byers.
Sister Josephine sat and comforted Shannon O' Driscoll who sat a few seats away from her mother, Jeanette. The young nun had become a confidant for the young girl throughout the trial. Still attending Our Lady Immaculate College, the once brash, unhinged girl had changed since the events of Valentines day. Sister Josephine regarded the small monkey soft toy that she clutched. It had been a gift to her from none other than Orla McCool. Jeanette O'Driscoll was noticeably embarrassed as she sat in the court, seemingly more upset that she was seen in such a place, as opposed to feeling sympathy for anyone. It was due to the influence of her husband, Patrick that the young man had become entangled in his scheme of historical theft, deceit, and fraud to begin with.
The repercussions came swiftly, and most of the assets owned by the O'Driscoll family had been seized. Patrick was still remanded in custody pending a trial date. He had covered his tracks well over the years. It was only by the grace of God, or in this case, a Derry girl who accidently saved his ledger to a hard drive that the truth had been exposed. The extent of his crimes were still being investigated and there was still no clear indication to how far back it stretched. Chief Byers knew that the hard work had only just begun when it came to Patrick O'Driscoll.
The group of adults, comprising of School staff, Nuns, a Priest, and an RUC Policeman heard the arrogant young man argue, swear and protest as he ascended the stairs and re-entered the dock. He cursed the jury who had condemned him earlier. The Judge was unwavering as he stared Danny down. Sister Michael scowled at the disrespect shown by the young person who had become so bitter yet was still so young.
This was, in many ways, a tragic circumstance. Such was the fate of many young men who had been brought up to hate, lie and scheme while being taught that it was proper to do such things due to the oppression from the English. The decades of hatred taught down through the generations from various backgrounds, from religious to political. But In the eyes of the law, none of that mattered. There was no justification for committing a criminal offence. Crime was crime, and this was just another case of another person who broke the law, and had to face the consequences of his actions, plain and simple.
The Judge began;
"Daniel Jonathan O'Driscoll. You have been found guilty of the act of arson, where in which you intently attempted to endanger the lives of young people at Our Lady Immaculate College of Londonderry; And it is now my duty to pass sentence. Your arrogance shown in court today shows that you carry no remorse for your actions, even when confronted with the truth that your actions could have resulted in dire consequences for your own younger cousin. However, your solicitors have pointed out that despite the clear evidence against you. It is clear to me that your actions were somewhat influenced heavily by others. Therefore, I shall still act with as much impartially as I can regarding your punishment. You are therefore sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. Take the prisoner down."
Sister Michael breathed out angrily as the sentence was read out. Danny continued to defy the authorities by swearing towards both Chief Byers and Sister Michael as he was lead down.
"I'll get ye! I'LL FUCKING GET YER BOTH, DO YE FUCKING HEAR ME?!" He shouted at the stern-faced Nun and Police chief who were unmoved by the man's threats as he was led away.
As Chief Byers led the consortium out of the court. Sister Josephine took her leave as she walked on with Shannon to catch up with her mother. Father Peter watched her leave and almost walked on with her but thought better of it. An act of stealth that he thought wasn't noticed by Sister Michael.
"Thank you for bringing us today Chief Byers. My faith in the justice system is the same now as it's always been."
"Well, thank you, Sister." Byers said.
"That wasn't meant to be a compliment. 12 years! Honestly, I've known snakes with more spine than that Judge! And to be honest. I can't tell which is which sometimes." The Sister scoffed. "I take it I'll be back in a few weeks for the other piece of work!" Sister Michael groaned but noticed that Chief Byers was silent.
"There is a date set for his trial, isn't there?" She asked.
"Well…. Not exactly." Byers confessed. "We're still working through his financial records. And there's even a possibility that some of that money was put into the hands of…... unsavoury characters." Byers attempted to soften the blow.
"I see… Well, keep me informed." Sister Michael said. "I guess we need to turn to matters of more importance."
"More important matters, Sister?" Father Peter asked.
"Indeed."
"And by that I take it you mean…. The first game of the season?" Byers queried.
"It does. I trust the team are back at training?" Sister Michael asked.
"Aye, they are so."
"Good. Place down my usual. £20"
"I shall. Good day to you Sister. Father." Byers acknowledged them and left. Sister Michael and Father Peter walked back to her Delorean.
"Sister, forgive me for asking this."
"If it's a stupid question, expect a stupid answer in return."
"It's just I'm not too sure members of the Diocese would approve much of you gambling?" Father Peter stated cautiously.
"Oh really? Well then perhaps I should tell them what I saw on Valentine's day between yourself and Sister Joesphine, hi?"
"I explained that! She had something in her eye!" Father Peter shrugged nervously.
"Which navigated it's way to her mouth, no doubt?" The Nun shot viciously as Father Peter gave up fighting the losing battle.
Danny struggled with the cops as they brought him out of the custody van. Kicking and screaming all the way through the corridors of HMP Magilligan Prison. The first night was a true shock to the system as the reality of 12 years imprisonment finally dawned on Danny. Shouts and curses came hard and consistently in his direction throughout that first night as the other inmates heckled him profusely, refusing to allow him to sleep comfortably.
The next morning, Danny felt the strain under his eyes as he slowly emerged from his single cell, a lack of sleep from his first night obviously affecting him. A single cell was customary for new arrivals before potentially being placed with a cell mate. Danny cautiously surveyed the cold stares from the other inmates, not wanting to gaze upon them for too long. His street smarts came into play. He felt himself slide into survival mode. No conversation. Eyes down. He chose to remain inside his cell. As the day went on. Hours felt like they went on forever. An officer finally came to him with news that he was to be moved in with another inmate. Grabbing his pillow and mattress, the officer led Danny down the white walled corridors into a ground floor cell which was occupied by another inmate. After a cautionary word from the officer, the two were left alone.
No sooner had the officer left, the other inmate turned and marched out of the cell. Danny shivered as he began to make up his bed on the lower bunk. Just then, a pair of hands grabbed Danny from behind and threw him with force against the wall. The inmate was flanked by two other men, adorned with a dark bushy beard and curly black hair, he threw his forearm into Danny's throat, making him choke. The inmate appeared to be the same age as Danny, but the dishevelled beard made it difficult to tell. He was as broad as Danny with wild eyes to match. The inmate ordered the other two to stand guard at the door.
"Wha- What the fuck ye doing?!" Danny struggled, panicking with what the inmate might do.
"Do ye remember me?!" The inmate growled. "Ye should do…."
"Look mate, I don't know who ye are…."
"Ach, don't lie. Surely ye remember me! Then again…. Why would ye? I'm sure I wasn't the first to get caught up in yer Uncle's bullshit!" He shouted as he effortlessly flung Danny onto the bottom bunk.
The inmate smirked as he caught sight of the large gap in Danny's teeth. "Christ, but he must have smacked yer good and proper there!" He sneered, pointing towards his own front teeth.
"How do ye know my Uncle? Who are ye?!" Danny asked, clearly afraid of his attacker.
The young man crouched down and leaned in close to Danny's face and spoke slow and methodically. Danny sat still as he began to tell his tale.
"Yer Uncle, Paddy O'Driscoll? Oh aye. I remember him…. Larger than life so he was, every night he used to come down to the pub. Night after night he'd preach his fucking mouth off about how fucked up we all were for letting the Protestants and the English control our land!..."
"…. Well, lads like me, and those two out there…. we knew we didn't have much to begin with, we had nothing, and they had everything…. And we started to listen to him…. I remember every… word… he… said! …Somehow…. he made sense of everything. But when he found out that I liked yer cousin, Sinead…. Ach, that's when he reeeeeally pulled the veil over my head!" The inmate growled.
"He used to get under my skin, saying things like the English wanted to breed us Irish out of our own country! That they were baying for every single decent catholic Irish girl, like his Sinead… And it was our job to do something about it…. To get them before they got us…. That's what he said! But I was so fucking blind, I couldn't see what he was really doing…. he got inside my head…. and at the same time, he made sure Sinead and me was as far away from each other as possible. Cos in his words, I WAS JUST SOME FUCKING WORKING-CLASS FENIAN SCUM THAT DIDN'T DESERVE HER!"
The inmate's eye welled with anger and sadness; his eyes were blood red as Danny saw a solitary tear roll down his cheek. Paralyzed from listening to his words that reached deep into the pit of his stomach, the truth behind his uncle's vizard was coming to fruition.
"…Yer Uncle is a two faced, lying fucking leach! He took everything I felt for your Sinead, and he TURNED IT AGAINST ME! I WAS CONVINCED THAT WHAT I WAS DOING WAS RIGHT…. and I…. and I've been paying the price for it ever since. ….."
Despite taking deep breaths between sentences, the rage of the inmate was evident as Danny remained sat hopelessly, paralysed with fear.
"…I lost my family because of him… Do ye know my family don't even talk to me no more?! I haven't even seen them in years because I believed yer FUCKING UNCLE! People like him… made people like me think that getting involved in the troubles would make things right…. But instead, he FUCKED people's lives up and walked away while innocent people got hurt ….and killed…. because of FUCKING COWARDS LIKE YER UNCLE!"
"…. I…. I have nothing to do with that!" Danny braved himself to finally speak.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
The inmate yanked him up to his feet and swiftly ploughed his fist into Danny's midsection. Danny whined in pain as his hurt ribs throbbed. He collapsed to the floor, he slowly looked up at the inmate who stood above him.
"Do ye remember me now?!" The man asked again.
"Aye… I remember ye…. Niall, isn't it?" Danny moaned.
"Aye, it is so…. Niall." The inmate revealed his name. "Just so ye know…. the lads out there… They all know why you're in here, and they don't like fellas who try and commit arson when there's wains involved. And I certainly don't like it when it involves my family!" Niall stated angrily.
"Yer family?" Danny asked.
Niall stopped and turned. "Oh aye, do ye not remember my last name? ….. It's Mallon. Niall Mallon... I'm Michelle Mallon's big brother…. James Maguire's cousin…. Ye know? The wee English fella who knocked yer front teeth out?!"
Danny gawked with shock at the revelation. "How do ye know all this?" He asked disturbingly.
"Well, turns out yer Uncle didn't do a grand job keeping me away from his Sinead. She's been the only one visiting me for the past few years, along with her wain, Liam?... He's my son." Niall revealed "Watch yer back, ye fucking coward." He said before finally walking out. Danny gasped as he let the news sink in while still lying in pain on the cold floor.