Contents
Chapter Thirteen
Overview
Cal brings Mart proof of Tommy and Eugene’s plan to leverage compulsory purchase orders through a sham factory and council control. Mart commits to organizing the townland to pressure Tommy directly, rejecting going to the Guards. They discuss contingency tactics targeting Eugene’s reputation and vow to shield Lena and Trey.
Mart frames the stakes as a fight for the land’s future, signaling an escalation from rumor to collective resistance.
Summary
Cal visits Mart, catching him mid-battle with his attic squirrel. Amid farm talk and news that Senan’s car was crowbarred, Cal reveals Lena’s lead via Mrs. Dymphna Duggan: a factory front will let Tommy buy scattered parcels, get Eugene onto the council, and force compulsory purchase orders across “everything in between.”
Mart confirms the plan’s plausibility and explains how rezoning and investor interests would lock locals out, naming neighbors whose land would be targeted. He frames the deeper stakes: a centuries-deep bond to reclaimed land versus a megafarm/investor takeover. Legal objections, he warns, will bleed farmers dry.
They reject killing Tommy and debate leverage. Mart argues Tommy must remain to “pull the plug,” and that the Guards—locally compromised and politically reachable via Dickie O’Shea—are useless without irrefutable proof. Cal suggests outside detectives; Mart counters Ireland’s small, connected power networks.
Agreeing on a path, Mart outlines the “direct route”: quietly build momentum so a critical mass tells Tommy he’ll be socially exiled from Ardnakelty if he continues. If that fails, they will get subtler, possibly by surfacing Eugene’s internet history or spreading, via Sheila Reddy, that Eugene abused Rachel to sink his election. Cal insists Lena and Trey be protected; Mart agrees and will credit Duggan, not Lena, as the source.
They part on this plan—Cal to keep quiet, Mart to rally allies—while the squirrel’s taunts punctuate the moment, a comic counterpoint to the looming confrontation over land and power.
Who Appears
- MartFarmer-strategist; validates the land-grab scheme and vows to rally the townland to pressure Tommy while avoiding the Guards.
- CalBrings Lena/Duggan’s intel about Tommy’s CPO plan; rejects violence; partners with Mart and demands protection for Lena and Trey.
- Tommy MoynihanFactory boss and power broker; alleged architect of buying parcels, electing Eugene, and forcing CPOs for rezoning and profit.
- Eugene HolohanTommy’s son; council hopeful; potential target for reputational attacks to block election; implicated in confiding the plan to Rachel.
- LenaSource of the key lead via Dymphna Duggan; Cal insists she be shielded from blowback.
- Dymphna (Mrs.) DugganInformation broker whose intel substantiates the CPO scheme; to be cited as source instead of Lena.
- Sheila ReddyPotential messenger who could spread that Eugene abused Rachel, a contingency tactic to block his election.
- SenanLocal whose car was smashed with a crowbar, reflecting rising tensions and tit-for-tat intimidation.
- P.J.Neighbor seen working his land; emblem of farmers threatened by the prospective CPO sweep.
- ClodaghTommy’s wife; her social standing becomes leverage if Tommy faces communal exile from Ardnakelty.