‘Now, when you are better, you will be running straight up to the bombed-out site to play the footie, won’t you? If I hear Jerry shout once more, “Harry takes a corner like Stanley Matthews”, I’ll be on the phone to Bill Shankly meself, do you hear me? I’ll be saying to him, oi, Bill you don’t even know it but your best player is here, knocking a ball about with the lads on the four streets and you haven’t even noticed him yet.’

She stroked the wet hair back from Harry’s forehead with the cloth as he burned up, muttering words that made little sense and she fought the fever bowl by bowl, cloth by cloth, as the clock ticked through the minutes and the fire fell into dust. Without being asked, Angela knew just when she was needed and helped her ma until they heard the sound of Liam’s van pull up outside.

‘Oh, thank you God!’ Maura gasped, her voice catching in her throat and she blessed herself. Tommy took the stairs two at a time and ran into the room with Liam close behind and Maeve, Liam’s wife, staggered breathlessly in after him.

‘Come on,’ said Liam who could see Harry was a very sick boy indeed, ‘Tommy, you carry him down the stairs and we will lay him on the front bench of the van, across yours and Maura’s laps. Maura, come on, down you go. Have you got everything you need? Maeve is going to stay here with Angela and look after the place. We knocked on to Pete Shevlin’s and he’s sent his cowman to do the milking for us. Angela, you go away back to bed and get some sleep before the others wake and you can have a day off school and help Maeve. Tommy, you lift Harry and take him down to the car. Do you need anything, Maura? Do you have your handbag?’

In the midst of the chaos, Maura almost smiled. ‘You are Kathleen’s son, all right, Liam,’ she said, impressed, as she tied her headscarf under her chin.

Maeve helped Maura on with her coat and threw her arms around her as Tommy lifted Harry up and into his own arms. ‘They will make him better at the hospital,’ said Maeve. ‘Sure they will that. I’d say send him down to Bridget on the farm, she has a potion for everything, but you’d never be able to get him there in the dark across the bog and up the bohreen until it’s daylight. That’s the worst of it, where Bridget lives in the sod house – even I can’t find me way and there’s so many goblins sleeping out there at night, one would surely grab at your ankles and trip ye up. Wicked, they are.’

Maura hugged Maeve back as Angela said, ‘Can I come with you, Mammy?’