A Job For Phil

A Job For Phil

By Paul McCann

Every Friday evening my  good friend Gerard Steward and I swapped the marvel comic books  we had read for some new ones . We both had a large collection of Superman , Superboy and Batman comics as well as the other secondary heroes so often we might have some unseen or unread copies .

It was a Friday night and I was making my way through the streets to the top of the hill where the North Belfast bus depot stood . Then I noticed a light on in one of the buses so being inquisitive I went to have a look ,

Inside one of the buses I this fresh faced fella playing cards by himself on one of the seats and  introduced myself to him and asked him his name and where he was from

As we spoke told me his name was Phil and that he was from the country . He was just in my district visiting . Then after a while he mentioned to me that his Daddy had gone over to England for some work but he died over there and not long after that his Mammy also died leaving him and his two sisters alone in the world . Some distant relatives came and took his sisters but they didn’t want him , so he was sent away to work on a farm in Armagh .

He said it was awful there and he had runaway and ended up hitch hiking his way to Belfast . He remembered his Mammy once telling him something about her brother Richard lived in my village so he had come to see if he could find him .

So far he hadn’t been able to make any contact with his Mammy’s brother after speaking to some people around , He went over to the chapel and asked some of the priests in Holy Cross if they had any information about his Uncle Richard but the all that they knew as during the second war he and his wife and child had left Ardoyne to open a wee shop over in the Falls somewhere .  Now Phil was at a dead end and didn’t know what to go or where to go . I asked him where abouts in Ardoyne he was living . He pointed to the bus depot and said ,

“I’m sleeping in one of the buses at night and during the day I play handball and do a few wee jobs for Mulholland’s fruits shop , bagging up carrots and spuds . I make enough money to buy some fish and chips over in Fuscos .

I asked him ,

“Have you no family or friends anywhere ?”

He shook his head and replied .

“I have no one but myself ?’

 “So did you tell the priest’s in the church where you’re staying ? “

And he replied ,

“No , I’m too ashamed

I said ,

“Maybe they can help you . You should go and have a talk with them ?

“Maybe I will .“

He said .

“I’ve have to go now but l’ll come back here tomorrow about the same time .

In the morning you should go and talk to the priests. Let me know how you go 

See you tomorrow then Phil  “

:”Nice to talk with you Paul “

He replied . I was hoping he would go over to the church and have a talk to someone there . I went through the big gates of the bus depot and over to Cranbrook . I left Gerards house when it got dark and as I walked back through the bus depot I wondered which bus Phil would be in . I went home to our house and had some supper before going to bed .  Next day at about the same time I went up to the wall at the bus depot to see if Phil was there .  He was sitting there on the crib of the pavement and when he saw me , he stood up and came over .

“Did you talk to the priests ?”

I said and he nodded and replied .

“I did and I told them most of what I told you and Fr Denis mentioned to me that he knew a few people over in London and he said there was plenty of work there if I

Was interested . I told him I was so he wrote me a personal reference and told me there was emergency funding in Holy Cross that he would be able to access to help with the fare and some accommodation when I got there “

He looked so happy and was so grateful that I had mentioned to go and speak to the priests . Later that night he was going over on the boat train to start a job with a friend of Father Denis .

Phil had dreams of a better future and he said he was prepared to work hard to make it happen . The man who was going to give him a place to stay in London went by the name of O'Driscoll . He owned a pub in London and had some spare  rooms and wasn’t asking for any money until he had been working a while .

Phil showed me the personal reference  that was written by Fr Denis and the excitement in his eyes was great to see.

The kindness of the local priests had inspired him and he was looking forward to making a life for himself . I wished him all the best and he walked off to get a taxi that was coming to the chapel to bring him down to the docks  /

The End

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