Give it over, Michael.
Thanks.
Rose!
- Yours? - Aye.
My dad got it when they sold up Lady Pawson's.
Lady Pawson, is it?
Fine fish, Michael.
Give him a smile and you'll maybe get one of the claws for your supper.
Michael!
I've told you, Michael, they're created creatures!
Get off!
It'll make me sick!
Poor Mike's no answer to a young maid's dreams...
but do you not think he just possibly knows that?
I can't abide him, Father Hugh.
You used to ride to school on his back.
- I can walk for myself now. - Aye.
Where are you walking this afternoon dressed up like that?
- Nowhere precisely. - Just so.
What do you do, Rose, mooning about all day by yourself?
Read.
- Well, I wasn't really reading it. - You're doing nothing, then?
- I suppose so. - Have you nothing to do?
Precisely that!
Well, Miss Precisely, that's a pity.
Doing nothing is a dangerous occupation!
Morning.
- Blowy day? - That's right, Corporal.
It's the wind.
Only want to be friendly, kids.
Then go back to London and write us a letter.
- Don't come from London, love. - Go anyway.
- Morning, Mr. O'Connor. - Good morning to you, Corporal.
Will you listen to that now?
Aren't the police a dirty lot, hobnobbing with the British soldiers?
I heard that, Moureen Cassidy.
You were meant to, Constable O'Connor.
Hey, Michael!
Michael, darling, show us your fish.
How much does he weigh then, Mike?
How long is it, Michael?
I've never seen a lobster the equal of that.
- Michael, can I touch it? - Come here and show it to us, Michael.
Michael.
Now what? Now what?
What am I to do with you? What?
- Actually it's only a bit of fun, Father. - Fun?
Are you brainless, Moureen Cassidy, or what?
Fun.
Devil take me if the lot of you is not possessed and damned.
I don't know what's the matter with the youngsters in this place.
I don't at all.
Their talk is filthy, their doings are secret, and cruelty for fun.
Unemployment is the matter with them, Father Hugh.
It's the deliberate policy of the British government...
that Irish youngsters shall corrupt in idleness.
Well, it's working fine.
I just seen your Rosy loafing about the beach again.
How much you give for that black lace umbrella?
Three and six.
You'll ruin that girl.
It's time she had a fellow of her own, Tom. A house of her own. Floors to scrub.
My princess isn't interested in fellows, Father.
Your princess has fellows enough in here.
And fellows running loose in there will do a girl more damage...
than a barrack full of drunk dragoons.
Well...
if there's one of that lot as is fit for her, maybe you'll point him out, Father.
Rose.
Mr. Shaughnessy.
Well...
this is nice, Rose.
Well, you're back, then?
Yes, I'm back, and I...
- Thanks. - Thanks.
I came to meet you.
Well, that was kind.
A party of us went to a couple of concerts while we were there.
I saved you the programs.
- "The Royal Philharmonic." - Berlioz and Tchaikovsky.
- No Beethoven? - No Beethoven.
Do you know that the British government has got a law now...
- forbidding the playing of German music? - No.
- Can you imagine such foolishness? - British.
Well, all governments is foolish, more or less.
An Irish government would be the same.
Well, maybe.
Thank you.
- You enjoyed yourself in Dublin, then? - Well, I did and I didn't.
A conference of village school teachers, you know, is not exactly a...
- Bacchanalia? - Bacchanalia. Precisely.
We did have some interesting discussions, though.
There was a lady teacher among us from Belfast, a stimulating woman.
Oh.
- Did she come to the concert? - She had the score.
In what way, precisely, was she stimulating?
She had a fine and fresh mind, Rose. Very modern in her thoughts.
She'd been at the teaching for over 50 years.
Old folk with fresh minds are very stimulating.
Then there was a ministry inspector, he gave us an address...
But the best we had was this professor from the Sorbonne.
Now, there was a man with a mind, if you like.
- Why? What did he say? - I couldn't tell you, Rose.
Whatever it was, it was wasted on us.
Teachers are a poor lot, surely.
If teachers were the poor lot, like you're always making out...
how would the pupils be learning such riches?
What?
Some young fellow's going to be a lucky man.
- Rose? - I've something in my eye.
Rose.
The nuisance.
- Will I get it out, then? - Oh, no, it's nothing.
It's only the wind.
- Are you away to the schoolhouse, then? - No, Rose, I think...
I'll scramble up the dunes and pay my respects to my wife.
Oh, yes.
Good day, Rose.
Good day, Mr. Shaughnessy.
Hello, Michael.
- Shaughnessy. - There you are, Mr. Shaughnessy.
So, you're back again, Charles.
Home is the voyager, safe from the sea.
- The usual? - Thanks.
And...
what did you see in Dublin?
- You mean, the trouble? - What else?
Well, nothing, really.
- Did you not go and see Sackville Street? - I passed it, yes.
- Passed it? - Well, I'll be damned.
What did you see as you passed it, Charles?
- It did look terrible smashed about, Father. - It's true, then.
- The Government used guns. - I've not said that, Father.
All right, you've not said anything. What did you hear?
I heard they used heavy guns...
like them they're using on the Western Front against the Germans.
And our poor lads pursued from house to house...
with not one rifle between three.
Now, if the Germans had an ounce of sense...
they'd send us guns to use against the British.
That's treason you're talking.
And friends that are listening surely to God.
It's foolish, all the same. You'll blather yourself into jug some day.
Charles, what do they say they'll do with the lads they've got in prison?
They say they'll hang them, Father.
Good luck to all Irishmen.
Bad luck to the British. Success to the Germans.
And...
And a very good morning to you, Corporal.
Two black stouts, please, Mr. Ryan.
And one for yourself?
Well, seeing you're a man of wealth, Corporal, yes.
- Father? - No.
- Mr. Shaughnessy? - Well, I don't mind if I...
No, I'd best be on my way. Term is starting tomorrow, you know...
It seems the Jerries...
are giving your brave lads out there a terrible scrimmage, then.
Aye.
You see, Tom, Jerry's a tougher proposition...
than unarmed Irish children.
So far as I know, Mr. McCardle, no children were killed.
All right, then. There were.
They get you in this uniform.
You point your gun where you're told to point it...
and you pull the trigger.
And so does Jerry.
And so would you.
You've seen that place, Passchendaele, maybe?
No, not Passchendaele.
- You're well out of it, Corporal. - That's right.
Well, duty calls.
Good day, Charles.
Well, good day.
Welcome home.
Will you imagine that fellow?
A fortnight in Dublin. Does nothing, sees nothing.
It's working with children, makes a man childish.
No, it was that wife of his, knocked all the spirit out of him.
She was a good, pure woman.
- Pure, she was. - Is that nothing?
Oh, no. No.
Well, did you come to lend me a hand, then?
Well, now, let's see. For a start, you could put the kettle on.
I didn't come for that at all.
I've come to say something.
I feel like a child in this place.
And I'm not a child.
Do you know that?
I know that.
Rose, I've...
maybe an idea of what you came to say.
You have no idea at all.
Well, I'm just saying, in case it helps a bit, I maybe have.
I love you.
- Will you come inside? - No.
Will you sit down, then?
- Why? - I'd like to talk to you, Rose.
Well, I know what that means.
Rose, this sort of thing can come about, you know...
a girl taking a fancy to a teacher.
- Thanks. - Fancy's all it is, Rose.
Rose, you've mistaken a penny mirror for the sun.
Do you not see that?
I see you always digging a low pit for yourself...
when you should be standing on a heap of pride.
Well, Rose...
your coming here today and saying what you've said...
is the only cause I've ever had for pride.
Don't you see, Rose? I only taught you about...
Byron and Beethoven and Captain Blood. I'm not one of them fellows myself.
- I'm not daft, you know. - But you're terribly young.
- Aye, and that's a hanging matter, isn't it? - No, it's not.
Well, then?
It's not a hanging matter to be young...
but it maybe should be a hanging matter for a man of middle age...
to try and steal the youth from a young girl.
Especially a man like me and a girl like you.
You were meant for the wide world, Rose, not this place, not this.
Me, I was born for it.
It wouldn't do, Rose.
I just know it wouldn't.
So you don't want me, then?
Don't want you?
- Yes. - Oh.
Would you like a fat pheasant, Constable? It'll cost you nothing.
Whoa.
He recognized you.
- Well, you'll have to be quick... - Shut up!
Bring the cart!
Jesus.
- Fine pair of gunrunners we are. - Come on.
We'll never walk to the coast, Commandant.
- It's 200 miles. - We'll walk to Limerick.
- Limerick? - The lads are waiting for us.
- Oh. - And cheer up, Pat.
They're waiting with a lorry.
About 30 fellows.
Now...
marriage is a sacrament ordained by God. That means, Rosy...
once it's done, it's not up to me, nor you, nor Charles. It's done...
- till one or other of you is dead. - I understand that.
God ordained it for three reasons.
First, that Charles and you should be a comfort to each other...
in the long, dull days and the weary evenings.
- Do you understand that? - Yes.
Secondly, for the procreation of children, and to bring them up as good Catholics.
- Well, you understand that. - Yes.
And, thirdly...
- for the satisfaction of the flesh. - Yes.
Are you scared of that?
Yes.
It's nothing to be scared of, Rosy. A function of the body.
I suppose all girls is a bit scared before.
And fellows, too.
- Yes? - Oh, yes.
It will make me a different person, won't it?
- Marriage? - No, the satisfaction of the flesh.
That's a gate I have not been through myself...
but, no, it won't make you a different person.
I want it to.
Child, what are you expecting?
Wings, is it?
All right, try it.
Seven boats. All currachs.
One thing at a time. Keep a look out.
Top of the morning, Father.
Morning!
- Morning, Father. - Morning, tinker.
You'll find nothing much here. It all gets carried round the head to Killins.
Ah.
- Good luck with it, anyway. - Thanks, Father.
And if them two's tinkers, I'm the Bishop of Cork.
Now, we'll have one light on the beacon...
and one on the cliff.
- What now, then? Back to Dublin? - Tomorrow.
I want to see what Ryan's like.
Are you not done, Mrs. McCardle?
Easy, Mr. Ryan, dear. They'll not start without her.
Women.
Tim, did you review the volunteers in Phoenix Park before the war?
- Yes, why? - Will you come here?
Aye, you're looking at me picture, lads.
Here.
You recognize someone?
- That's yourself, landlord. - It is.
And he that has me by the hand...
- is Commandant Tim O'Leary. - Never.
Red Tim himself. That 1,000 secret policemen...
have been hunting for these last five years.
And himself, no doubt at this very moment walking the broad streets of Dublin.
- He's a brave man, surely. - Nerves of steel.
You know him well, then?
- I get my orders from time to time. - Landlord, you're a desperate man.
I'll tell you something.
- Come on then, Mr. Ryan. - Right, ma'am.
Good luck to the young lady.
Talk.
This whole cursed country will capsize with talk.
The locals are no good.
I'll have to bring you some hard lads from Dublin...
when the time comes.
- When will that be, Commandant? - I don't know.
Depends on our clever lads in Germany.
And they're great talkers, too.
With this ring, I thee wed.
In the name of the Father...
the Son...
and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
This gold and silver, I give thee...
token of all my worldly goods.
Good night, Father Hugh.
Good night, Rosy.
Well, is no one going to kiss the bride?
Steady, lads. Steady!
Get off out of it!
Enough. Now, cut it out.
Now, then. That's enough. Come on, boys.
That's enough.
Now, lads, that's enough.
- Lucky man, and how are you feeling? - Lucky.
Are you all right, princess?
It was only their bit of fun.
Good night, Father.
Good night, Rosy.
Now, go on, away in with you.
Well, you'll be away early in the morning, I suppose?
We will, yes, Mr. Ryan.
You're a wonderful girl, Rose.
No.
No, I'm not.
Charles, how you getting on?
Them fellows has an elegant sense of humor.
It doesn't matter.
Charles, get a handful of this.
Now, come away.
- Rose? - Yes?
Are you all right?
Yes.
- Good night, Rose. - Good night, Charles.
Rose?
I got you these.
They're all growing, see?
- When did you do it? - Last thing yesterday. Just before church.
Charles, you're a rare man.
Well done.
- Here, no. - They're not heavy.
I can't believe you're here.
Well, I am.
Well, now.
Beethoven.
I...
I don't think you care much for my flowers, do you?
I like them better growing, surely.
Well, sure, things are better growing.
I'm afraid you're too late for snapdragons.
Well, I'll put in some lilies, then. I like them.
- What's the matter? - My shirt, Rose. I'd like to get my shirt.
Charles, you're fine as you are.
Well, all right, Rose.
I don't know, Rose, suppose somebody came in.
Charles.
- You're always on about if someone came. - Well, it's not decent.
- Decent. - Well, it's not, you know.
All right, then.
I'm sorry, Charles.
- Put it on. - No. What does it matter?
No, you're right. Please, put it on.
No, well, I'll be out again in a minute.
Six ones are six.
Six twos are twelve.
Six threes are eighteen.
Six fours are twenty-four.
Six fives are thirty.
Six sixes are thirty-six.
Six sevens are forty-two.
Six eights are forty-eight.
- Six nines are... - Fifty-four.
Fifty-four.
Six tens are sixty.
Six elevens are sixty-six.
Six twelves are...
Seventy-two.
Now, your work is on the board. You've all got your pencils.
There's no need for talking, Kathleen. Now get on with it.
Get on.
Rose?
Rose.
- Where are you going, Rosy? - Nowhere.
You're in the devil of a hurry there.
Now, stop.
Now, what exactly is the trouble between you and Charles?
No. No trouble.
Are you asking me to believe you're happy?
- I'm not asking you anything. - Are you happy?
No.
Why not?
I don't know.
- Come on, Rosy, now give me a try. - I don't.
All right.
Because I am stupid and conceited...
and self-centered and ungrateful like you've always told me.
For I have everything I wanted, have I not?
You have!
- What more are you wanting now? - I don't know that, either.
- That's a lie. - It's not.
How can I know?
I don't even know what more there is.
- You've got a good man now, haven't you? - The best.
Well?
And you've got enough money. Not much, but enough.
Aye.
And you've got your health.
- You're not sick? - No.
There is nothing more, you graceless girl.
- But, there is. - There is not.
I know there is.
- There must be, Father Hugh. - Why?
Glory be to God, why must there be? Because Rosy Ryan wants it?
Aye.
Have you got any warm old clothes, Rosy? Poor Patsy Wheelan's in a bad way.
I'll find some, Father.
Thanks.
Rosy, don't nurse your wishes.
You can't help having them, but don't nurse them...
or sure to God, you'll get what you're wishing for.
Major Doryan, sir.
Sorry, sir, I had to change a wheel.
Sir.
Get in.
In!
Come on, kids, out of it.
You were in Second Battle of the Marne, weren't you, sir?
- Yes. - So was I, sir.
- Yes? - It was too much for me, sir.
I reckon that's why they sent me here.
Camp coming up, sir.
Slope...
arms.
Capt. Smith, sir.
Hey.
That's all we're short of, that is. A crippled bloody hero.
Well, now, sir.
This is our communication with the outside world.
Field telephone to the police station down the village.
Now, then. Records.
Hello? Constable O'Connor here.
- Were you calling? - No, no, Constable, just testing.
Well, now, sir, where was I?
Oh, aye. Records. Records. Transport.
They're sending a...
Well, I guess you'd better see your room.
Well, now, duty.
Our duties are light.
Oh, good lad, Jimmy.
Jimmy will look after you right nicely, Major Doryan.
Tired?
Yes.
- That leg gives you gyp, don't it? - Yes.
Sent you here for a rest, did they?
Yes, I think they did.
Well, you'll get that, if naught else. There's nothing to do here but walk.
Oh, I'm sorry. I expect walking's out.
No, I'm supposed to walk. Five miles a day.
Oh. Well, then. They've sent you to the right place.
There's some nice walks here.
Our duties are light enough, God knows.
Our duties. It's more like police work, isn't it?
The publican's a source of information.
- An informer? - Aye. Publican, name of Ryan.
Well, he's nothing to inform, has he?
But the police slip him a fiver now and then, you know.
Oh, he's all right.
Big mouth, open hand, empty pocket, you know?
Typical publican. But he's all right, really.
- Jimmy. - Sir?
- Are my bags on the lorry? - Yes, sir.
I'll be straight off, if it's all the same, sir.
- I've given myself leave. - Yes?
Embarkation leave.
France.
Second battalion, Southeast Lancashires.
They're in the front line.
Will you tell me something, man to man?
What's it like, really?
Front line?
Aye. Well...
I'll find out soon enough.
I'm a coward, you see.
No, I always have been.
From being a lad.
I can't master it.
Well, perhaps I've never tried, really.
But, I'd give my left arm to have a bit of what you've got.
I hate it.
Just the bloody thought of it gives me the shakes.
That's my nightmare, as a matter of fact, the shakes.
I don't mind dying.
Not if it's quick. Life's not that much, is it?
I wouldn't mind a gammy leg like you've got.
Though I don't suppose it's funny.
But the shakes?
Shellshock.
Just shaking and shambling like a epileptic baby.
Nay, I'd rather be dead.
I can see what's coming.
I'm going to disgrace myself.
You don't know what you'll do.
No one does. You don't know what you're doing.
Really?
I read what you did in the newspapers.
That were no flash in the pan.
You'd do the same again, I dare say.
You'd be wrong.
Well, you've done your bit.
It's someone else's turn now, eh?
Oh, dear. You look about finished, sir.
Here.
Good stuff, this. Cheap, too.
That's the generator.
The bloody thing stays on all night, but you'll get used to that.
This your house?
- Yes. - Well, I never.
- Wife? - Yes.
- May I? - Please.
Oh.
Bonny woman.
Thank you.
- She'll be coming out, then? - No, I don't think so.
There's no local crumpet.
It's married or virgin here, you know.
And that priest down there has got eyes in the back of his head.
It gets bloody lonely here.
Why not have her out?
Sorry.
Fools rush in, eh?
You're probably better on your own a bit.
Excuse me.
I'll pop back to say goodbye.
It's him.
Peg leg.
Sir?
Excuse me, I didn't realize you were serving.
Well, I'm just minding. What did you want?
Whiskey.
Water?
Did you want water?
Please.
Thank you.
I must open the door.
Sit, please.
- Is this where you live? - What?
Is this where you live?
- I live at the schoolhouse. - Schoolhouse?
- I'm married to the teacher. - Oh.
They're back.
- I don't know your name. - Shaughnessy, Rose Shaughnessy.
Come away in, then. One round on the house!
That's my dad.
Your father is the publican?
Yes, why not?
Now, I can't just say you're very welcome, sir.
Not in your official function.
But in yourself, you're welcome.
A brave man is a brave man in any uniform.
English khaki, Irish green, aye, or German gray.
Aye, you've a large mind, sir.
Put it there.
You've met my daughter, then?
Yes.
All right, everyone, the Major isn't a peep show.
Princess.
Guess what your old dad's got for you this time from the fair?
Guess.
- I don't know, Father. - Come and look.
- Now, then. - Father, you can't afford it.
Oh, it's nothing.
Just a little blood mare I picked up at the fair, is all.
- She's a Connemara. - All right.
You look as if you'd be a judge, sir. Maybe you'll favor us with your opinion.
Now.
It's a fine horse, Mr. Ryan.
- Are you away, then? - Yes.
Good day, Mr. Ryan, Mrs. Shaughnessy.
Snob!
Of course he's a snob. Isn't that what the English is famous for?
Aye.
On the house.
Hello.
Did you see our lord and master, then?
- I did. Fine looking young man. - Blather.
- Will you meet me tomorrow? - How?
Where?
- The tower. - What tower?
Ask.
When?
- 3:00? - Yes.
Whatever is this, darling?
It must be the lilies.
You're restless, Rosy.
Yes, I am a bit.
I think maybe I'll take Princess out tomorrow.
Aye, yes, do that.
It'll please your father.
How long will you be here?
Till I ask to be sent back.
To the front?
To my unit.
They're at the front.
You'll not do that?
No. Not now.
Not now.
Oh, darling.
Darling.
- Tomorrow? - lf I can.
Good night, darling.
Good night.
Rosy.
- Hello, Charles. - Hello, Rose.
Where've you been, Rose?
What's happened, Rosy?
- Princess took a fall. - Rose, no.
I'm fine. I'll just change.
It was my own fault, really.
I put her at a ditch she wasn't up to, and...
she lay on my leg and wouldn't get up.
- Your leg, darling? Let me have a look. - It's nothing at all.
- lf you're sure. - I'm certain sure. It's nothing.
But she wouldn't get up for anything.
Do you know who came to get me out of it?
That new English officer.
- Major Doryan? - Aye, him.
He came and got her up.
Well, that was lucky.
- What have you been doing? - Waiting for you.
You mustn't worry about me, darling. I can ride.
You can ride Champion, surely. But the mare's not properly broke, Rose.
Rose, she's not properly broke.
Well, Major what's-his-name did say he'd help me.
- With the horse? - Aye.
But, I don't suppose he meant it.
- He looks a man of his word to me. - Does he, Charles?
Seems like a fine young fellow all around.
You always think the best of people, don't you?
Why not?
Well, we'll see.
- Could you eat some supper? - I could have a go at it, yes.
Rose?
Yes?
You'd never be unfaithful to me, would you?
Charles.
I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that.
No, that's a rotten question for a man to ask his wife.