A look through the eyes of a time traveller at world war 2
Around May 1941
By Paul McCann
If only we had a time machine , wouldn’t it be great to travel back through time or even into the future .
Looking back through the mists of time there is a scene I can see emerging from beyond the grove at Holy Cross church .
Standing there on a hill overlooking the desert of little terrace houses spread through the maze of little streets in the village of Ardoyne .
I see myself walking down into the streets that were only recently built , back then , noticing that all their iron railings have been removed to be used as raw material to make munitions for the world war 2 .
In the middle of the streets , small buildings stood there , intriguing me to take a closer look .
Standing outside these small buildings there is a sound like an alarm echoing out all around the village . The residents began to appear out from their houses running towards the small buildings in the middle of the street .
I too wanted to be there among them so as I followed the people who went rushing inside the little buildings I saw
children there inside these shelters with old folks as well .
Some of the Mommy’s and Daddy’s sat with a worried look on their faces .
On the wall was a clock and three bench seats where people could sit .
It was very crowded in there and I noticed how different the clothes were that people wore .
Beautiful young ladies there sat sharing stories about places in the the world they would love to visit .
There was a priest who seemed to be praying in silence .
“Are you a monk ?”
Asked one of the children .
“Well not really , I’m a parish priest”
Suddenly the sound of planes overhead could be heard .
One of the children sitting there asked a question to his Mammy ,
“Mammy why do they want to drop bombs on Ardoyne ?”
His mother replied ,
“Because there is a war and bombing is part of being in a war”
Other children then began asking questions to their parents
“When will the war be over ?”
“Let’s hope it will be soon son .
Came the reply .
Another little girl asked her father ,
“Daddy if they start dropping bombs will we be safe in these air raid shelters ?
Suddenly the planes overhead began to fade and there was over.
Distant machine gun fire could be heard around the village in sone attempt to bring down the enemy aircraft . With volleys of bullets eventually coming to an end people inside the air raid shelter were still very shaken and frightened.
The priest spoke with a deep soft voice that seemed to have a soothing effect on everyone there .
“There is nothing to be afraid of . God protects us always “
Everyone nodded their heads
Opposite the priest was a little boy holding a book . He asked the little boy if he could have a look at the book and the little boy handed over the book .
The priest took the book and read out the title ,
“The land of Tir Na oGe “
He caught the attention of everyone because he talked a bit different than everyone else .
“Does everyone know about that place time it is where we can be forever young “
Some of the children shook their heads and the priest said “
It’s just like heaven you know , because in heaven no one gets old and we live there forever with God where there is no war only peace “
Everyone left the air raid shelter and returned to their homes and through the mists of time I found a sense of wonder and thought yeah , here in
Ardoyne May 1941 , if only we had a time machine and we could be transported back in time or even go to the future .
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