The disputed story of a 14-year-old Waterford boy killed in the first World War has been turned into a play, writes Brian O'Connell
Sadness and pride inhabit 74-year-old John Condon's voice as he recalls the first time his father told him the story of his uncle, also John Condon, who hailed from Ballybricken in Waterford city.
Down through the years Condon would hear others recall a skinny nine-year-old boy running carefree down city lanes and tearing in and out of neighbour's homes.
"I think more than anything else he wanted adventure," says Condon. "He was always saying things like, 'When I'm older I'm going to join the army'. He would go off and stay with neighbours, and even though he was so young, he hardly ever spent a night in his own house. His parents would often have to collect him from a neighbour's house and bring him to school." In the Condon family version of events, John Condon was killed at the Second Battle of Ypres on May 24th, 1915. The first his family knew of his involvement in the war was when they received a letter from the ministry of defence informing them of his death. He was 14 years old.
The case of the boy soldier, though, has not escaped the gaze of revisionist historians, who debate his age. Many claim that administrative errors could have mistaken Condon for his older brother or another soldier from a different regiment. Yet the Condon family are dismissive of such claims.
"I believe what my father told me," says John Condon, "none of the family had any idea he was in France. They thought he was in Clonmel. My father was his brother and I had no reason to question his version of events. The War Office told me that John is officially the youngest soldier to be killed in [the first World War] and I go by what they told me. John was just a boy when he fell."
Cut to 1990. Ben Hennessy and Red Kettle Theatre Company are grappling with Frank McGuinness's Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme. Among the cast is Sean Lawlor. On a day off from rehearsals, Lawlor shoots a 10-minute short film based on Condon in Dunmore East. When Hennessy hears, his interest is aroused and he begins to research the life of the Waterford boy soldier.
When he comes to write a play for adolescents some years later, Hennessy finds in John Condon a fitting subject matter. Waterford Local Radio asks for a radio play. It goes to air and compliments are paid. It's almost immaterial though. By now Hennessy has developed a deeper connection with the life of John Condon.
He walks the lanes where Condon lived and tries to imagine what was going through the youngster's head as he flitted from house to house. Hennessy doesn't have far to go. The Red Kettle offices are situated on Jenkins Lane, where Condon grew up. Three hundred yards up the hill is Wellington Street.Further on are the quays and John Redmond Bridge. When the bridge was opened in 1912, John Redmond, MP for Waterford, came to town. Also that year, John Condon enlisted.
For almost two decades, Condon has been in Ben Hennessy's head. So when Red Kettle was looking for a way to mark its 21st anniversary this year, he had just the project.
BACK TO THE present, and three days before opening night, Hennessy and director Pat Kiernan are holed up on the grounds of St Otteran's Hospital in Waterford, watching The Boy Soldier, a new piece of devised theatre come to life. There is no script, and with only a few days to go, some scenes have yet to be realised, let alone polished.
The approach is a new one for Hennessy, who decided to present the idea first and work from there, with the help of director, actors, designers, and choreographer.
The rehearsals take the form of workshop sessions, led by Kiernan, and recorded on digital camera so that afterwards Hennessy can develop the dialogue from viewing the recordings. He reckons about 80 per cent of the play is in place.
"There are a few scenes we have never done before but have spoken about, so I think the plan is to try and run the full thing this evening," says Hennessy. "It's very much a tightrope process. We have three days to go and really, we're still making it up." Despite the casual appearance, everyone in the rehearsal room displays an intimate knowledge of their subject, helped by the fact that in the weeks leading up to rehearsals, cast and crew visited the battlegrounds of Flanders.
"Initially myself and Pat Kiernan went over and it was a real eye-opener," says Hennessy. "We had done the research, but walking among the graves and fields added another layer. Twelve Waterford men died on the same day John Condon died, including Chris Power and Martin Gaulle from Ballybricken. I realised straight away that all the cast had to come over. So we did, and I remember at one point we were all walking among the graves - some half a million in total - and I said to the lads imagine when everyone here was above the ground. We walked the fields where John Condon died at a place called Mousetrap Farm and it was a very moving experience."
The experience was especially moving for Tramore native Matthew Dunphy, who has the task of playing the boy soldier.
His experience in Flanders helped bring resolution of sorts to the historical debate surrounding his character: "When we arrived at John's grave, our guide told us that there were a lot more recent crosses on the grave than the ones around it. There was also a five-cent coin on top of the grave. He told us that a child had most likely left it there. I think it was at that moment that I felt, regardless of the controversy about John Condon's age, that he is a huge symbol of child soldiers everywhere and that the debate is somehow irrelevant."
FOR SEAN LAWLOR, who plays a multitude of characters, including Willie and John Redmond, the chance to return from his present base in LA to work on the show feels entirely appropriate. Lawlor's interest, evident in his film-making exploits in Dunmore East all those years previously, runs deeper than most. Having researched the Waterford connection to the first World War, he subsequently wrote a full length feature film based on the Condon story. The script is currently doing the rounds in LA and Lawlor is hopeful of attracting a big-name director.
"It's a huge story," says Lawlor, "not only that of John Condon, but also the story behind it. Going to Flanders was a very moving experience, as these guys have been forgotten figures in Irish history. They have been written out of our history."
Somewhat at odds with the national experience, Waterford has always been comfortable with its first World War history. "Having a relative take part in the first World War is very common in Waterford for the average working class family," says local journalist and first World War researcher Mark Power. "There isn't an awful lot of politics about it in the city; mostly people are comfortable about it. There is a sense that Irish culture is beginning to catch up with the Waterford experience, where really there is an unproblematic relationship to the first World War."
The awareness of Waterford's involvement in the first World War has always been acknowledged locally and it's right that Red Kettle should be tackling this subject at this time."
HENNESSY SAYS THAT local anticipation is high and hopes that the production will live up to expectations and also put to rest his own relationship with the subject matter.
"Many of these fellas have been shunned by our generation," he says. "They were ordinary fellas who fought for many reasons, some economic, some out of wanderlust. Yet they have been written out of our history. We felt the guys have been denied their Irishness and painted with an imperial coating. We are attempting to bring them back to Ballybricken and reclaim their Irishness."
Boy Soldier opens at Garter Lane Theatre, Waterford, on Nov 21 and runs until Dec 2. For bookings call 051-855038