
“The Decree of Ne Temerre.*”
Rob CullenMar 12 · 2 min read
…
There is a photograph taken at People’s Park,
my mother, father and sister,
standing in front of the open gates,
I am a child in my mother’s arms.
…
An uncle had died of TB,
a particularly virulent strain,
his brother he’d infected was in Dublin,
in a TB ward never to return.
…
His brother had come home,
when the war was done,
his lungs carried the strain,
one brother infected by his brother.
…
There was no freedom here,
a grandmother of one faith,
married to a grandfather,
of the state recognised religion.
…
But the freedom was of love,
the way they joshed and laughed,
cocking a snook at cruelties conventions,
in dangerous times for either.
…
Their love persevered,
in spite of the disconnection,
families estranged, rejection,
and so a lesson was learned.
…
The love of a church to murder children,
with its smiles, those killing smiles,
the freedom of a church to traffic children,
with closed eyes and the endless miles of lies,
…
the love of a church to brutalise,
young, single mothers, with nowhere to turn.
The freedom of a church to hide,
its crimes and the deaths of small children.
…
And in their black clothed piety,
set themselves above all others,
absolve themselves of guilt,
set themselves above Christs teachings.
…
There was no freedom here,
we watched with open eyes.
…
©robcullen110321
…

- Enunciated in 1907, Ne Temere requires that all children of a mixed marriage be brought up as Catholics. Before 1907 the tradition was that the boys in such a marriage would be brought up in the father’s faith and the girls in that of their mother.
- Ne Temerre resulted in couples of both faiths being rejected by their families, particularly farming families, where the oldest boys who married a catholic would result in the Catholic children of that family inheriting the land. But the impact of Ne Temerre had much, much wider repercussions than this and its a subject that requires greater study. I would recommend “Different and the same” by Deirdre Nuttall.
- Ne Temerre to all intents and purposes was a cleansing of Protestants from the Republic of Ireland.
- “Under the stone eyes of Mary” is the title of a novel I am currently editing.
- Being second generation Irish was confusing on many levels, returning “Home” raised further confusions.
- Having a Catholic grandfather excluded by his farming family, and a Protestant grandmother excluded by her family provided a minefield when returning “Home”.
©robcullen110321Resistance Poetry
Verse as Commentary
WRITTEN BY
Rob Cullen
Rob Cullen artist, writer, poet. Rob runs “Voices on the Bridge” a poetry initiative in Wales. Walks hills and mountains daily with a sheep dog at his side.