Jack Doyle - Dearest Mr. Blarney

    With Jack's glory days well behind him the Dodge family women still had somewhat of a 'hankering' for him.....

     'Jack had again tasted fame, but the trappings of success he once took for granted had slipped tantalisingly beyond reach. They were the unattainable baubles of a bygone age. His slender consolation was the certain knowledge that the heady days of the past would be remembered with affection by those he had known. Delphine Dodge's daughter, Christine Cromwell, was one who would never forget and she wrote him a string of letters professing her love.

    Christine admitted that Jack was the first and greatest love of her life and her correspondence bore witness. In 1963 she sent him a colour photo of her and her father inscribed: 'Love to Jack, who has ever been in my thoughts. Christine.' Although twenty-eight years had elapsed since she vied with her mother for Jack's body and soul, the passions aroused in her were such that she had never been able to find true and lasting happiness with anyone else.
    In the mid-1960s Christine was a property-owning resident in the British Virgin Islands. She also had a yacht, from which she operated a fishing enterprise with two partners. The first letter to her 'Mr. Blarney' was dated May 1, 1965, and there were shades of Judith Allen's poetic touch enshrined in its breathless message:
    'Darling -
      My goodness I need you so badly. What twist of fate is it that keeps us apart? Not long now, tho [sic] - My love, dearest Mr. Blarney.'
      She signed herself simply 'C.'

    It appeared that Christine, then forty-two, was as deeply in love with Jack as ever, although it is doubtful he was of the same persuasion. At this time he would not have been interested in her body and still less her intellect. He would have been after one thing only: her money. This was evident from her second communication, a long-winded missive in which she claimed to have been badly beaten by one of her partners in the fishing enterprise she was running between Barbados and San Juan. It transpired that she had been in touch with Jack by telephone and, reading between the lines, the inescapable conclusion is that he pleaded poverty to her. Her letter read in part:

    'My very dearest Mr. Blarney,
      Dear God above it was wonderful to talk to you, but my distress as to why I called you this time has made a mercyless [sic] ache in my heart for you. Perhaps some day I can make this up to you just a little bit.
      Let me express my very deep hurt for you, and say again I will help you all I can. Please keep good care of yourself for you and for me. Altho [sic] there is a good friend here, my needs have been for you.
      My love and affection and my heartfelt sympathy - there's still life for us yet.'

    Again she signed off with a simple C.
    Whether Christine did indeed render Jack financial assistance is doubtful. Nancy Kehoe could not recall him receiving a sum of money from the Virgin Islands or anywhere else for that matter. She was working as a waitress at the Cumberland Hotel at the time and though she may have been unaware of much of what went on in his life she could not have failed to notice had he become suddenly and significantly better off.
    It appears, too, that the ache in Christine's heart was not so 'mercyless' as to send her rushing to Jack's side. Her words had echoed sentiment rather than intent; they were written in recognition of a love for him that was still alive in spirit but dead in practicality. All contact between them then ceased. Whatever feelings they had for each other faded once more into distant memory.'

Many thanks to Michael Taub, author of Jack Doyle: the Gorgeous Gael, for allowing us to reproduce excerpts of his book here. Many thanks also to his publishers Lilliput Press, Dublin.

Michael will be speaking at the Gala Dinner/Birthday Bash on the night of Jack's 100th anniversary of his birthday, as part of the Jack Doyle Centenary Weekend. The weekend events take place from Friday 30th August to Sunday 1st September.

Highlights of the weekend include:

·  A Boxing Tournament on Friday 30th August - organised under the auspices of the IABA Cork County Board. (Tickets available at the Commodore Hotel @ €10)

·  A gala dinner with guest speaker Michael Taub, author of 'Jack Doyle; the Gorgeous Gael.' Music by the 'Contenders' Saturday 31st August. (Tickets available at the Commodore Hotel €34.95)

·  Official opening of the Jack Doyle Mural on Saturday 31st August (pics below) - all welcome to attend.
·  The Jack Doyle Play with actor Luke Barry on Sunday 1st September. (Tickets available at the Commodore Hotel @ €5)

·  Guided Walking Tours and tours on the Cobh Road Train, Historical Workshops, street theatre, classic car displays, commemorative mass & subsequent ceremonies in Cobh's historical Promenade, guided tours of the Old Cemetery where Jack is buried and much more.