Your man Del Brogan leaves with this bird on his arm and his daughter in tow and we’re left in the dressing room with his backing band that consists of a bunch of longhairs dressed up in charity-shop suits. I never knew hippies played that style of music, Barney says to one of them, tall guy with the plukes all over his face. Just doing a favour for the big man, the pluke guy says, money innit, he says. I thought you guys were all into the free love and all that? Barney says to him. Where in the fuck you gonna find free love in Ireland? the longhair-pluke guy says. It’s a good point, I says to him, and I see Wee Robin looking over at Barney right then. Sure, do youse smoke the grass, the longhair-pluke guy says to us, and Barney’s like that, naw, son, we’ll just stick to the booze, but of course I can see that he wants to, we both do, but we don’t want to do it in front of the birds. How do you know your man Del Brogan? I says to the longhair. Met him years ago, he says. How do you know him? he says to me. Let’s just say we’re in the same line of business, Barney says to him. In that case, let’s just say the same, the longhair says. Alright, we’re on the same page now, everybody’s talking that wee bit freer. But then the longhair drops the bomb. Sure, I met your man Del Brogan in the jail, the longhair says. We met when we were serving time.

Who knew your man Del Brogan had gone down?

Your man Del Brogan was in the jail? I says to him. Didn’t you know? he says to me. Went down for a few year. What for? I says to him. He puts his hand up, makes the shape of a gun, pulls the trigger. And what were you doing in there yourself? I says to him. Same thing, he says.

Okay, so everybody knows that Special Branch recruit their agents in the jail. They enjoy certain benefits, they get out early, they get protected, plus they have the ultimate cover story: they’ve done time for The Boys.