Where we come from

Fadó - What Came Before

"Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán 

féin."

One of the most iconic of many Irish proverbs, this one quite literally means "there's no hearth like your own hearth". While this could be interpreted as merely having quite a splendid fireplace, the true meaning is much more "hearth"-felt (excuse the pun). It actually can be interpreted as "there's no place like home", and this is the main reason why this proverb is one of the most prominent in Irish culture. When Ireland is home, there truly is no place like home, because there is no other place that's truly like it. 

Ireland was one of the few places where you could live within 5 minutes of a massive, bustling capital city, and rolling green fields of the mountains and hills. If one was to get in a car and drive, the  journey could encounter a  bustling city center, and a tiny alluring village which appears as though it has been plucked right out of the 1800's, all in the time frame of an hour.

Dublin was a city full of large families, students, the young and the old, commuters, tourists and every other kind of person in between. It was a city full of life, vitality, opportunities, acceptance, pride and love.

Walking the streets of Dublin is a unique and captivating experience, each street and building with its own story to tell. Day time presented endless opportunities to experience the culture and history of this mesmerizing town and country, and the nighttime presented the opportunity to experience new adventures unlike any others. It was a country which is rich in culture and history that was hard earned. For centuries, Ireland lived under oppression and foreign reign, but fought vehemently against all of these odds, with a refusal to give in that lived in each Irish person and burned a fire so strong that eventually, Ireland earned its freedom. 

But history always repeats itself.

Things are very different now. None of this could have been predicted by someone 10 years ago, driving their kids to school or to their GAA club, on their morning commute to work on the astonishingly tardy Dublin Bus, taking a stroll along the Liffey or just generally living life in Ireland.

The world economy worsened over time and eventually recession turned to depression and the state of the world spiraled alarmingly. The world continued to become more and more unstable, and so did Ireland, and in the midst of the chaos in the world, a large, nationwide assembling of fascists was taking place.

When they rallied, they were not taken seriously, with the focus of the people who sat in the important seats elsewhere.

When they grew in numbers and support and the public became scared, they were ignored still, which only angered them further. Apparently there were similar associated groups all over the world, but the people of Ireland wouldn't know how that played out.

When they became armed and militarized, well, that finally caught some attention. But of course by that stage, it was far too late.

The numbers of the group were far greater than anyone could have imagined, and they had spent months plotting their overthrow. The attacks began with an assassination of the highest political figure in the Dáil (the Irish parliament), the Taoiseach. This occurred on the 21st of January in 2032. The country had still been reeling from this unprecedented event when the first bombs went off. One went off at the Spire, another at the GPO, another at Trinity college, and a dozen more dotted throughout the city. Rather than using a cold, hard figure, the loss of life would more accurately be described as devastating. They marched in their feral, merciless troops and took their strongholds throughout the city and after a period of time that was full of fear, bloodshed and fighting, they won.

Marshall law was imposed immediately, with the barbarous troops running rampant in the streets, burning buildings, beating and raping innocent people. The wider population cowered at home, unable to do anything but hide and pray to attract no attention, making themselves small, but it was pointless. Like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, they were all easily found. Eventually, however, those in charge must have imposed some order, as the mindless violence stopped, and a new horror was introduced. All young people between the ages 15-20 were sent to military compounds where they would be trained and brainwashed by senseless propaganda to be the perfect tools needed by this new power.

Children were torn from their families and sent to one of these new compounds, meanwhile those left behind were left to deal with the aftermath and with the brutality of those who now had control over their every movement.

Once again, Ireland no longer belonged to the Irish.