“MEMORY is never a trustworthy tool, or a very forensic tool”. It can, however, offer a “true reflection” of an person’s own experiences, Jake Mac Siacais says ahead of his autobiography launch.
From the perspective of those who know him, as an Irish language activist and lifelong republican, his story is undoubtedly a fascinating one, and it is one that is laid bare in honest detail in his new book, Ón Taobh Istigh.
Written in Irish, the autobiography starts as most stories do – at the beginning. Born onto a wooden bath board, Jake’s translated introduction describes his own beginning as neither “the most auspicious” nor “the worst”. It was, by his account, a relatively unremarkable day, although the events that have marked his life have been anything but.
Our recent conflict and, of course, the republican struggle had a profound impact on Jake from an early age. Having joined the Fianna aged just 10, he had, by the time he was 14, resigned himself to either prison or death. For him, the latter came first.
Arrested, questioned, and waterboarded by the RUC, he was eventually imprisoned at 17-years-old and would spend the best part of a decade in ‘the Crum’ and Long Kesh – eventually being moved to the H-Blocks in 1977. During his part in the blanket protest, he became a friend and close confidant of Bobby Sands, who would die on hunger-strike in 1981. As well as offering an honest and heartfelt insight into one of the most tragic periods our recent history, Ón Taobh Istigh is a discerning look at the social and political events that have shaped our post-conflict society.
Speaking to the Andersonstown News, Jake told how he wrote the book as a means of dealing with his own personal struggle with depression.
“I had suffered severe depression from 2015 to 2017 and I had worked through that with counselling,” he explained.
“Then in 2018, February, the counsellor said to me that one of the things that some people find useful is to write things down. So I just started to write my life story and somebody suggested that it would make a great book, so that’s what I did.”
He continued: “It meant that I was examining my life in detail, going through everything that I’ve been through and literally just pouring it out on pages.
“I decided that in the book I would be as honest and as forthright as I could, but that I would do it in a way which didn’t individually insult or attack people. I deal with the politics of things, but not with individuals.
“I’ve dealt in detail with all of the major periods; the struggle, the peace process – all of that.”
He added: “I’m sure that historical figures will recognise themselves in the book, but the book is written with the clear intention of laying out how I remember things, and not straying into making judgements of any individuals.”
Ón Taobh Istigh is a forthright and genuine attempt by Jake to tell his story. While he admits that memory is often subjective, it is a “true reflection” of his own experiences.
“I say in the introduction of the book that memory is never a trustworthy tool, or a very forensic tool,” he said.
“It’s difficult to trust anyone else’s recall, and even more difficult when it comes to your own because memory is inclined to remember those things which it is favourable to remember, and to forget those things that are painful or difficult. Therefore, before you read this book bear in mind that it’s a true reflection of what I experienced, but others may take a different view.”
Ón Taobh Istigh will be launched at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich on Saturday at 1pm.
