Scene 1
Jim gets the news of a secondary school teacher who passed away. O’Malley (also known as Tayto O’Malley) died of old age. The scene is the living room of the wake of O’Malley. The room is full of smoke. Among the mourners are two former pupils of O’Malley who have come to pay their respects. Jimbob (45) is an alcoholic, and Siobhan (45) is a high-earning professional who hasn’t returned to Letterkenny since leaving for America as a teenager. She has developed an American accent. They don’t recognise each other.
Siobhan: God, he looks like himself.
Jimbob: Sure, who else would you expect him to look like?!
Someone walks in with sandwiches.
Voice: Would you both like a sandwich?
Siobhan: I didn’t realise he was so well-known.
Jimbob: Jeez aye there’s some crowd here altogether hi!
Siobhan and Jim eat sandwiches in silence for a bit.
Siobhan: I missed them.
Jimbob: You missed what?
Siobhan: Tayto sandwiches! It’s been years.
Jimbob: Do you know the story about the Tayto?
Siobhan: Sure of course I do, wasn’t he known as Tayto O’Malley.
Jimbob: (surprised) I didn’t know he taught in Texas!
Jimbob and Siobhan turn and look at each other.
Siobhan: I might have lived in the States, but I started out as a wee sham.
Jimbob: I’ve been in some states myself, sham.
Jimbob recognises Siobhan as his first love.
Siobhan: Aw... really?
Jimbob: I was in some state when you left...
Scene 2
Jimbob and Siobhan are both 17. They are sitting in a booth in the Dolphin Café on the Main Street in Letterkenny.
Siobhan: G’on, pass me the salt Jimmy.
Jimbob: Your arms aren’t that short darling!
They continue eating.
Siobhan: Sooo, the reason that we’re here…
Jimbob: Don’t tell me you’re pregnant!
Pause.
Siobhan: I am. And I’m being taken away.
Jimbob: What do ya mean away?!
Siobhan (starting to cry): I have no choice. They’re making me go to the States. We’re all moving!
Jimbob: Wait? What? Houl’ on now. They can’t do that. You’re my woman and that’s my wain. Maybe we can make a plan? I’ll go get a job.
Siobhan: Jimmy, it’s all decided. We fly on Saturday. I’m sorry.
Scene 3
Jimbob and Siobhan are sitting on a bench at the top of the Market Square in Letterkenny. They have just left O’Malley’s wake together.
Siobhan: Soo... it’s been a while.
Pause.
Jimbob: My child would be 27 & a half by now?
Siobhan: He is. His name is Seamus. He’s a fine-looking man… He looks like you did back in the day.
Jimbob: I hope he handled things better than me.
Siobhan: Decisions were made for us Jimmy. I went through a lot of emotional stuff myself.
Jimbob: I lost myself when I lost you. I searched for you in bottom of a bottle. The more I looked, the more I lost… job, family, house… hope. I always wondered about the child over there belonging to me.
Siobhan: I lost myself as well. Even when I got married, I still only wanted you. I tried to find myself in a career in psychology but sure I was more lost than my clients. Then my marriage fell apart. When I heard of Tayto’s death, we had the excuse to come back that I always wanted.
Jimbob: Who’s we?
Siobhan: Your son, Seamus. And his family.
Jimbob: I really missed THAT much? I’d love to meet them but look at me… just a washed up mixed up alkie.
Siobhan: Would you like to see a picture of them?
Siobhan takes a picture out of her wallet. There’s a long pause.
Jimbob: Everything in this picture is everything I have ever wanted. I always knew you’d be a good mother Siobhan.
Siobhan: It’s never too late for you to be a father.
Jimbob: So, the door’s still open?
They both look at the picture.
Jimbob: Jeez, our son looks like the both of us!
Siobhan: Sure, who else would you expect him to look like?!
The End
The aim of the Cross Border Story Seeds Project was to promote a positive sense of self and the community, bringing young people together across the Border and across traditions, through creative expression.
Over the course of this project our facilitators, artists and volunteers visited more than 120 primary and post-primary schools and community groups, working with approximately 10,000 children and young people in Counties Antrim, Louth, Down, Monaghan, Armagh, Donegal and Derry.
Working with primary schools, chapters were exchanged back and forth across the Border, with each school adding a chapter in response to what was written by the previous school, culminating in finished stories and the publication of the zine, Story Seeds Across the Border, that weaves together a refreshing and insightful description of community life along the Border counties, and beyond.
Working with post-primary schools, students created stories within the Gothic genre and wrote fantastical stories that were full of creativity and imagination that celebrated important local landmarks and investigated folklore in their communities. The stories are also published today in the zine Gothic Tales: Stories of the Mysterious and Macabre.
Working with community groups, groups of those with additional needs and youth clubs, some of the participants contributed stories to the Gothic Tales zine. However, they mostly created stories, plays, screenplays and radio plays that will make up the next two episodes of the Story Seeds podcast that can be heard on the Fighting Words podcast.
The project was funded by Creative Ireland and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports & Media. The project ran from April 2023 to March 2024
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