The Red and the Green in Govan
A book review of Sean Damer's 'Those Tyrannising Landlords' (2022, Ringwood Press)
It is something of an unwritten rule that when doing a book review, particularly of a novel, the less written about the author, the better. It is called a book review after all. But, like every rule - written or unwritten - there are exceptions. And in Seán Damer, the author of 'Those Tyrannising Landlords' (2022, Ringwood Press) we certainly have one.
Seán Damer, a prolific writer, social researcher and long-time academic sociologist, was once described as bombproof in regards to his knowledge of early 20thC Glasgow social history. As one of Scotland's first graduates in sociology (1968) who has since taught and researched in the Universities of Strathclyde, Trinity College, Dublin, Manchester, the West of Scotland and latterly Glasgow, where he was a Senior Research Fellow, you begin to understand why.
But perhaps the best kept secret of Damer’s bombproof-ability with regards to Glasgow social history, is the way in which he weaves it industriously and in an illuminating fashion into a read, re-read and read again, piece of authentic historical fiction. In terms of being a rule breaker however, he has absolutely nothing on the book’s protagonist, Peggy O'Donnell.
It is through Peggy that the story unfolds - the story of an Irish Catholic migrant family from The Rosses of County Donegal to the thumping industrial inferno of Govan in 1912. A story which takes in themes of social class, anti-Irish discrimination, religious critique, feminism, political radicalism and then some. From the green of Celtic Park which is detailed in chapter 8 to the Red of Clydeside and the not so soviet stramash of the Forty Hours Strike in January 1919, it's all here and written with little apology but always with a tonne of power. There is a historical realism to 'Those Tyrannising Landlords' which doesn't relent, much like the boom and bang of the titan cranes of the Clyde you can but hear as you read this book. In fact, this is more a historical faction, not fiction.
The realism can be felt, for instance, as Peggy begins to veer up the steep incline of Gardner Street in Glasgow's west end, where she is onto a promise of a domestic maid's job. The lungs and calfs begin to burn as you read. When inside, it becomes clear that Peggy is politicised beyond her young years as she records, internally, her own surprise that a Scottish prodesan can also support the cause of Irish nationalism. A lesson that many have yet still to learn.
The cruel reality of both slum and tenement life is crucially on display here too. Thankfully, 'Those Tyrannising Landlords' is no exercise in the patronising or, worse still, outright rose-tinted romanticism of those who like to frame such a time in Scottish history as being of quaint wee Glasgow life. The reality of such poverty, state neglect amounting to social murder and the abject inhumanity of the lot of many of the exploited labouring classes is unapologetically put front and centre.
Put simply, Damer doesn’t miss. Particularly when he takes the reader on an exploratory voyage through life in the Govan closes and wynds where the poorest were to be found. Of the Harmony Row inhabitants of Govan for example, Peggy discovers that,
‘...there were two things in common to each close; the number of weans and the smell…toddlers were everywhere, playing in the close, the street or the back green, most of them in their bare feet and much patched hand-me-down clothes…Imagine living your whole life in a kip like this, Peggy thought, bringing up a family in a small, one roomed house. But there were thousands upon thousands of people in Govan and all over Glasgow doing just that.’
(pg. 149 - 150)
Damer writes creatively and with conviction, of this there is no debate. But he also writes with a conscience, or at least the motivation, to help foster one within the reader. And it is perhaps this more than anything else which sets ‘Those Tyrannising Landlords' apart from anything similar which has come before it. Having said this however, there is very little at all on this subject matter and of this time in Scottish social history which has ever been published as a historical novel.
It isn’t just the vapour of toxicity from the backcourt shit heaps and middens which is described in depressingly accurate detail by Damer when speaking of the housing situation of the urban poor, however. Indeed, masculinity and all the endemic toxicities which accompany it are also explored. This is shown, for example, when Peggy's Da is challenged to a backcourt square go by the Orangeman up the street in Govan’s Irish Channel. Or again, perhaps, when Mrs O’Hara speaks of being the victim of a violent husband who, at the time of her victimhood revelation, is in the pub.
A further aspect of working-class life and leisure also expertly navigated by Damer, particularly in relation to capturing the sense of community, is found when he writes of the traveling fitba’ supporters of the day. The scene setting for the cheek-by-jowl reality of the Celtic Park pre-match pavement pilgrimage made, in this instance, by the family and friends of Peggy; Pat, Michael, Eamonn and Conal, is captured sincerely,
'Going along London Road towards Parkhead, the crowds grew even thicker and all the trams were packed as tight as cattle on the Derry boat…a troop of mounted police trotted past. Nearing Parkhead, Pat, Eamonn and Conal were astonished; they had never seen so many people in the one place in their lives'
(Pg. 55)
The mention of Jimmy Quinn and the fans singing God Save Ireland as the game begins only adds to the book's authenticity. The use of oral history and social research to help this story really come to life is clear to see. But it is the end of the eighth chapter that truly delights. A bold Peggy O'Donnell brings the celebratory night in the Govan Irish Club to an end with a haunting rendition of Slieve Gallion Braes before her Da, Pat, yells,
'James Quinn for Pope!'
In 'Those Tyrannising Landlords' Seán Damer succeeds in shining a much needed light on the Irish in Glasgow at the beginning of the last century. Indeed, this has become a topic of much importance within academic circles and is one which has been picked apart in a multidisciplinary manner by academics both here and in Ireland in recent years. But until now, there has been zero appreciation of the plight and pluck of the Irish Catholic migrant in Glasgow beyond mere caricature or stereotypical drivel as far as a novel is concerned.
Until now we have had to wait for Damer’s ‘Those Tyrannising Landlords’ to fully appreciate their navigation of housing inequalities, conflict, protest and stigma and discrimination. It is through the life of Peggy - the idealist and martyr in her own way - that we learn how they struggled to improve their lot in this harsh, haphazard and at times horrific community they came to call home, as a migrant of some unfairly received disdain, in Glasgow.
At its core, 'Those Tyrannising Landlords' is a much needed novel which is, at times anthemic, and part activism. As the reader, you are never entirely sure if your main job is to become more politically conscious of inequalities or if you are there to simply enjoy the read. And it is this, for me, which provides the book's significant singularity.
It ought to be very much celebrated as the first novel about the trials and tribulations of an Irish Catholic immigrant family to Glasgow. And it is a novel which every ‘Tim’ in Scotland should read - and 'Prodesans' too!
***
'Those Tyrannising Landlords' by Seán Damer is out now and is available for purchase at Ringwood Publishing via the following link:
https://www.ringwoodpublishing.com/product/those-tyrannising-landlords-by-sean-damer/
The book can also be purchased at Waterstones Online:
https://www.waterstones.com/author/sean-damer/710100
Liked this post?
Why not consider subscribing for free to make sure you don't miss out on my weekly articles. And, if you're one of the absolute good guys, consider taking out a paid subscription at less than £5 p/m or £45 p/a to further help my research and writing.
Thanks, Sean.