The Colony

by Audrey Magee

But they can only return triumphant, coming back with something nobody else has – a new hat, better shoes, a bigger belly, a pair of wellington boots. My own children have returned from America in that way. Trying to prove that they were right to leave. That we were fools to stay.

And for what? If it is to secure food and warmth, yes, I understand that. But much of it is this hunt for affirmation in a world that affirms little, if anything at all. As though some title could confirm who you are. Some house or car could prove your worth. I suppose that it works for some. Men think it attracts women, I suppose, but what type of man is that? And what type of woman is that, JP? Be thankful to God for what you’ve got, I say, and stop all the time chasing after the next new shiny thing. Sure, that makes us no better than the magpie.

The Penal Laws had devastating implications for the language as all schools, courts, leases, rent books, writs and summons were only available in English – this in a country where 80 per cent of the population spoke Irish.