The Gamal by Ciarán Collins Page A

we’d get off the bus in Ballyronan after a day’s school and we’d all go home but Dinky would follow James back to the castle to be hanging around with him. James said to Sinéad that he doesn’t help him doing his jobs, he just sits there watching and talking. The castle was rebuilt by then but James always had lots of jobs to be doing in the garden and stuff.
    When he was finished his jobs then Dinky would follow him in and he’d join the Kents for the dinner. His mother used to joke that they should just adopt him. James’ father would send him up to do his homework then and Dinky would have to go home. James would be glad to be rid of him by then I think. That’s the impression I got anyhow, not that James ever said it. James would ring Sinéad most nights. Until she was old enough to be allowed to call up herself. That didn’t happen until they were about sixteen. She’d call up in the evening time. Sometimes they’d do the homework together and I’d be putting on records for them. In the library in the castle. I might tell you more about it later. Yeah I will. I loved the library more than any place else ever. They had a record player in the library and my mother had tonnes of records that I used to bring up. I used to walk up with Sinéad a lot of the time. We’d just be listening to music mainly and they’d be working on songs too. They made up songs. The tunes of them and the words of them. That kind of bored Dinky so he stopped coming up then. He started hanging around a bit with the older lads. Especially with Teesh and Snoozie. Licking their holes.
    Dr Quinn says I’ve to introduce my secondary characters properly before I say another word about Sinéad and James and the library and their music or anything else cos I’m making a bollicks of the story. He told me who the secondary characters are. They are Dinky, Snoozie, Racey and Teesh. This is a description of each of them and their ages. I wrote out their names ten times so you can read it out loud ten times and get to know the names and know which is which. Plus it’s words for my story. Fifty.
    Dinky = a rotten cunt. Male human. Same age as Sinéad and James. Dinky. Dinky. Dinky. Dinky. Dinky. Dinky. Dinky. Dinky. Dinky. Dinky.
    This is Dinky’s nose.

    I’ll let the secondary characters introduce themselves from the court transcripts. This is Dinky in court.
    Dinky’s Evidence
    —Could you tell the court please, are you Denis Hennebry?
    —Yes.
    That’s Dinky’s real name.
    —And you reside with your parents at 43 Main Street, Ballyronan. Is that correct?
    —Yes.
    —And when did you first get to know Sinéad?
    —I went to school with her. Primary school. And secondary school. I’ve known her through my whole life really.
    —I see. And how about James?
    —The same like. He joined our class in primary school when they moved to Ballyronan.
    —By ‘they’ do you mean the Kents?
    —Yes.
    —James and his mother and father, is it?
    —Yes.
    —Sinéad and James entered into a relationship with each other sometime in their teenage years, is that correct?
    —Ahm. Into a relationship yes. They were always together like. The two of them were always hanging around, even in primary school but they were in secondary school then and they started going out like.
    —Were either of them ever in a relationship with anybody else while in secondary school?
    —In secondary school no. They were only with each other then.
    —I see. And tell me this, Denis, please, if you wouldn’t mind. Were you ever fond of Sinéad during this time?
    —No. Like what do you mean fond? She was sound like. We were friends. Everyone was fond of Sinéad like.
    —Did you ever have stronger feelings for her while she was going out with James?
    —Ahm . . . no like. Not like that, no.
    —Did you ever want to be in a relationship with her at the time?
    —No. I didn’t, no.
    —Your parents are quite friendly with Sinéad’s parents, aren’t they?
    —They are,