The Wedding of Jenny McGill

About the stupidity behind religious doctrine.

There were red roses, and white roses

At the wedding of Jenny McGill,

For she was a Roman Catholic,

And he of the other ilk,

But the priest had refused the Catholic Church

In the way that it was, back then,

For she was a Roman Catholic,

And he Presbyterian.

 

But her love had bloomed like a red, red rose

And his love had bloomed as well,

For love is the great uniting force

Of the Lord, this side of hell.

So she baked the bread with her loving hands

And he broke the bread with his,

The love shone out of his Protestant eyes

At the thought of wedded bliss.

 

Now she'd been raised in West Belfast

And he on the Shankill Road,

They were never supposed to fall in love

Like this, so they'd been told,

For the Orange Lord is an English Lord

And shunned, in the Irish way,

While the Lord of the Green is an Irish Lord,

So said the I.R.A.

 

They warned her once, they warned her twice

This wedding could never be,

For he was a Presbyterian

This John McGonachy,

And children had to be brought up right,

Believe in the Catholic scene,

And fight to unite dear Ireland

For St. Patrick and the Green.

 

McGonachy was told as well,

No good would come of this,

For he was a Presbyterian

And Jenny a Catholic.

His parents threatened to cut him off,

His friends just said: 'We'll see!'

He even got a visit at work

From the uniformed R.U.C.

 

But love should break down barriers,

And love should reign supreme,

They looked for a church to wed them both,

The Presbyterian.

She looked a picture when down the aisle

She walked, like an Angel queen,

He wore an Orange buttonhole,

And she a spray of Green.

 

The vicar read the service as

They gazed in each other's eyes,

Her love had bloomed as a red, red rose,

And his as a white surprise,

They made their vows so tenderly

Her dress, so white, so pale,

And then 'twas time to kiss the bride,

She lifted up her veil.

 

The stained glass window by the nave

That showed our Lord in grace,

Had lost some of the coloured glass

Around the Saviour's face,

Two shots rang out, and then two more,

The air was very still,

When red, red roses bloomed once more

On the dress of Jenny McGill.

 

The lovers died in each other's arms

And love died too, that day,

They carried them out of the chapel door

As some others turned to pray,

And some prayed to the Orange Lord

And some to the Green Lord still,

The Lord in the stained glass window wept

At the wedding of Jenny McGill.

 

They buried her down in a Catholic row,

And him by the Shankill Road,

Even in death they'd be kept apart

By the Green and the Orange code.

But the Lord is love, and he lifted them up

To a dwelling all white and cream,

Where the roses bloom in the wintertime,

And there's neither Orange nor Green.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[ANTO]

"When red, red roses bloomed once more
On the dress of Jenny McGill." - breathtaking David - I'd forgotten how much I liked this poem.
"The Lord in the stained glass window wept" - the true God

"Even in death they'd be kept apart
By the Green and the Orange code." - sadly this was so true but not so much nowadays. In fact David,
in my local cemetary, in the old days there actually was a wall built that divides the dead of the two faiths. Not a wall that goes up but one that goes down too - down about 3 metres into the soil. It was to ensure that no (Catholic) holy water touched or sunk through the soil into Protestant dead.The holy water is used by the Catholic Bishops who go round the cemetaries once a year, on what is known as Cemetary Sunday and bless the dead with the holy water - and to consecrate the ground.

A classic David - it should be taught in our schools at an early age to educate the young before they get the sectarian infection in their heads.

Thanks for sharing this - I enjoyed it but with a heavy heart for my people.

[Tate Morgan]

My friend Lucy is a protestant in northern ireland.She tells me tales of this rivalry that frankly surprise me to no end

[Marie]

Beautiful renderinf of this old as life tale. Or should I say old as religion tale. For organized religion was crreated only for profit and tears down what it should build up.
Speaks one who once simulated Catholicism and is now a fake Presbyterian.

[roarke]

Love should be the only "religion." With this piece you've exposed what many choose not to look at, including the consequences. It's nice to know there's a happy ending somewhere, some time, and you've provided a fine road to get there.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

I believe in God, and I believe in spirituality. Religion, however, is made of man and is meant to control man. "The Wedding of Jenny McGill" is a perfect example of this. Often religion makes a mockery of that which it preaches. Religion is like that "graven image" we were warned against creating. It's just that: a facade, a false mask, a way for men to pretend to be something they're not and feel better about themselves.

Once again, you wove a fantastic poem into the fabric of tangible truth.

Great job!

Linda Marie Van Tassell

[Bubo]

Such a sad piece, and of course much underlying truth to the past division of faith in Ireland,
religion causes so many tragic deaths, when surely there is only one creator of earth?
I found this flowed beautifully.

[Wildfleour]

Hmmmm...very interesting. Of course, I am curious as to who the shooters are??? Perhaps another poem from their point-of-view???

[Silent Kim aka mizmetap..]

Touching story, how hard they fought for their love and to still now find them together until after death. I love the way you write, it's very classical.

[Debra Stevens Edwards (..]

This is such a true statement of love and the tradgity that is humanity. How twisted we are by fear of the known, and sadly that seems to include Unconditonal Love. This style and beauty of this piece are excellently done and it holds an emotionally moving tale that pulls us the reader in. Bravo.
Debby

[Carole]

This has such a nice ring to it, David. The rhythm and rhyme is near perfection. I love how it is a poem but in story form. An interesting story. Is this truth or fiction? It's hard to believe there would be anyone that prejudice when it comes to a marriage, but I am sure it can be found. How sad that love can't reign supreme.
Some marry for money and end up divorced and that is so heart breaking for both people and such a horrible motive to have to live out that lie for their length of days just for the root of all evil. Thanks for sharing....carole