It’s not just the Hibs. It’s not just Stella Maris church and the first presbytery house in post-Reformation Scotland. The Irish built a good part of Victorian Leith streets, and they have one of the very few 19th century positive acknowledgements of their contribution on a stone tablet over the pub in Yardheads.
Then there’s all the bother that the Scots threw at them. That’ll be mostly the Orange Order.
It’s all in Trainspotting: Spud Murphy and his “fellow Fenian freedom fighter” Ricky Monaghan; a little bit of trouble in the Persevere pub; and Renton’s older brother Billy joining the army, getting shot up at Crossmaglen, and at the military funeral Renton whistles “The Foggy Dew”. He says his brother was “a prick in a uniform” while his Glasgow rellies are saluting him as “a hero who died for his country”.
I discuss all this with my friend Padraig Cronin from Cork in his podcast As he says, it might be nice to have it playing while you’re doing your Christmas wrapping.
