By David Quinn

Narrative

 

            Every Christmas Eve my grandpa would always tell us the story of how his father escaped from prison back in Ireland.  He would start by clearing his throat at the head of the table and he would start by saying, “WAAAAYYY back in 1920 on a cold Christmas Eve my Father “Pops Quinn” was put into a VERY COLD jail cell!  He was under the order of the IRA that put Pops Quinn in this situation.  He was under the impression of the IRA that he was a an English SPY!  At the point he was arrested he was appalled that the Irish thought one of their own men was an ENGLISH SPY!  Pops tried to talk the police officers out of arresting him because he was a loyal man to the IRA and the fight against the English.  After Pops was put into his cell he saw a man he knew.”  My grandpa stops all the time at this point for dramatic pause. 

 

            After about a minute he starts again, “This man’s name was never given when Pops Quinn told me and my siblings this story when he would tell us this story.” He would go onto to say, “This man was a guard in the prison and all we know is that he was a friend of Pop Quinn and this man helped Pop Quinn escape from prison in Ireland.  About a month after Pop Quinn was in prison Pops friend like I said earlier who was a prison guard.  After he escaped from prison he found his wife and they both got on the next ship to Canada.  After they got to Canada they lived there for about a month and came to the USA illegally and they raised a family of five in the city of Detroit.” After that whole story my grandpa sat down and he said, “The rest is history, and that is how the Christmas of 1920 started.