“Pictured are my mother and father, Ann and Eddie Lynskey and me (Eamonn Lynskey) walking in front and my sister (ann) being carried. This photo is one of the very few I have that shows us as a family in the early days. Subsequent years were not so happy so it means a lot to me. I wrote a poem about it, as follows:
Crossing O’Connell Bridge, 1950
Momentarily pausing, they are peering
into the lens, their faces a little concerned
about the look of things to anyone
who might be seeing this in years to come.
She is stooping slightly, catching hold
more tightly on the straps restrains a child.
He is clasping firmly shoulder high
a younger child in boots and bonnet. They
have crossed this bridge before, and many others;
have weathered storms but, together, always
made landfall. Together they have faced
whatever has been thrown against them.
Now they stand a moment while behind them
Nelson’s Pillar and some smiling ladies
squeeze into the picture. Later on
there will be other bridges: bad decisions,
mailboat crossings, years of letters home
and silences. But here, crossing the bridge,
they stop and, as the man lifts up his camera,
they pose hurriedly, as a family, together.
Eamonn Lynskey has published two poetry collections, ‘Dispatches & Recollections’ (Lapwing, Belfast, 1998) and ‘And Suddenly the Sun Again’ (Seven Towers, Dublin, 2010). His most recent publication was a poem in the Irish times two weeks ago
”
(1950)
Submitted by Eamonn Lynskey