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The Tay is Wet
by Ben Ryan
Format: Paperback
Publication date: 18th February 2010
ISBN: 978-1-907179-54-9
Price: €10.99
‘The Tay is Wet’ is a compilation of sixteen humourous stories about farm life in eastern Co Meath, Ireland, set mostly in the 1950’s. The goings on in the fictitious Roggart community featuring the Deery family and their neighbours will make you smile. The hero, Timmy’s adventures at the “Grand” Cinema recall the magical experience of moving pictures.
The diva sang loud in the “Met”
“My tiny hand’s cold, I’m upset”
But Paddy from Meath
Who was singing male lead
Said “the cure’s coming up, the tay’s wet”
The stories are loosely based on the author’s own experiences and the reminiscences of present and past generations. The narrative can be read in sequence or the reader may dip in or out to individual stories as each chapter is a complete unit.
“If your life feels a bit less harmonic
And your temper is turning demonic
Then the pick-up you need
In this book you will read,
It’s been voted the number one tonic”
Preface
The cinema and the dancehall played a significant part in providing, not only entertainment, but also some relief from the grinding and unending struggle to put bread on the tables of rural Ireland during the nineteen forties and fifties. Whistling and singing at work made mundane tasks seem lighter. Annual holidays became the norm. The general theme of the book is this bygone social scene of “pictures and dances” as recalled by the author and conveyed through the character, Timmy Deery, a simple man who makes us laugh but who also commands our respect for his innate good nature and decency.
Cinema was a social phenomenon not only in Ireland but in all countries whose ideology permitted its influence. Many of us who grew up in those times well remember when the main topic of conversation as we “drew” in the hay or “stucked” the corn was “what Judy Garland did last night in the pictures.” Actors and actresses became real people to us. We knew them as neighbours and friends or if they were “baddies” as enemies who deserved their comeuppance.
I have tried, in this little book, to recall some of those events and to add whatever life the written word will allow so that, hopefully, the reader will have a pleasurable and rewarding experience.
Ben Ryan, February, 2010
About the Author
Ben Ryan was born and reared on a small dairy farm near Duleek, Co Meath. His brothers farmed while he worked in industry. Now retired, his consuming leisure enjoyments are writing, painting and music.
His grounding in these pursuits goes back to the ‘seventies’ with his involvement in the local Ardcath variety group. Script writing, painting scenery, arranging musical scenes, were all combined in successful Pioneer and Tops of the Town stage shows.
He is involved in Duleek local heritage and history and has a BA in history and economics from University College Dublin. The social scene portrayed is firmly based on his memories of life and events in rural Meath in the middle of the last century. Each chapter is introduced by an amusing limerick, and the characters are portrayed sympathetically and with great humour.
