Jack Doyle....'..on the lang!'

   

Cuskinny Bay

'On the lang' is a typical Cork saying to describe purposely skipping school. Jack disliked school intensely and did skip out on numerous occasions. '....Joe (Jack) and his pals would go swimming in the sea at picturesque Cuskinny, just outside town. It was a mud-flat at low tide, necessitating a walk of a couple of hundred yards or so in order to reach the water. This presented a problem for the boys, none of whom possessed bathing trunks; it meant they had to leave their clothes by the shore and walk naked out to sea. One afternoon, when they had finished their swim and were heading back across the mud-flat, they could see in the distance a group of girls who had chanced upon their clothing.
    A member of the gang, Jim Doherty, remembered:

'The girls were standing around waiting for us to return. As we got nearer, we covered our private parts with our hands and the girls started giggling. Joe decided to forget his modesty and have some fun with them. He uncovered his shaft and started waving it around. The girls were so shocked, they ran for their lives'

    Joe's great penchant for exhibitionism, which would become outrageously evident in later life, concealed an almost intense puritanical streak that served to make him an unpredictable, even enigmatic, character. One instance was his professed abhorrence of foul language in the presence of girls; another was the unlikely choice of his Confirmation name, Alphonsus, which he was proud to adopt and then project as his middle name, the suspicion being that it provided an aura intellectualism which acted as cover for his lack of basic education.'

The above excerpt has been taken from Jack's biography Jack Doyle - the Gorgeous Gael by author Michael Taub. Michael, and his publishers, Lilliput Press, have kindly allowed us to reproduce this extract here.

Michael will be speaking at the Gala Dinner/Birthday Bash on the 100th anniversary of Jack's birth on Saturday 31st August at the Commodore Hotel, Cobh. This is part of the Jack Doyle Centenary Weekend taking place in Cobh from Friday 30th August to Sunday 1st September.

Highlights of the weekend include:

·  A Boxing Tournament - organised under the auspices of the County Board.

·  A gala dinner with guest speaker Michael Taub, author of 'Jack Doyle; the Gorgeous Gael.'

·  Official opening of the Jack Doyle Mural (pics attached)

·  Guided Walking Tours, 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.