Der fliegende Irlander

From the Archives: Episode 3
Time and time again, I would happen upon Conor and Michael chumfully arguing. Not an unusual sight for anyone who knows them and it's usually about music or books. But more than once the conversation has been on the history of the WWII. Both have excellent knowledge regarding history in general but to hear them laugh about such things as Himmler having a penchant for silk stockings or the day Anschluss was announced and the craic that was had in the Reichstag that night, was a little more reminicent in tone than speculative. So I began my investigation, which took me to the Staatsbibliothek Library in Berlin...

Once again I was dumbfounded. In the oldest part of the library in a tiny aisle, was a small box with a dust covered lid. Inside was the photos I have reproduced for this article. I asked the librarian of that section, a little old German man about four foot five, about the said photos and he recalled with glee the "...little Jewish looking boy...ah yes, not mentioned much but he waz Hitler's pet, I don't know how he escaped ze evacuation...Dr. Zoidberg I think vas his name". After much talking with this man I became aware of a disturbing situation, in which "the Jewish looking boy" and his "ever so charming friend" never left Der Furher's side. Apparantly "the charming friend" introduced him to Wagner... " oh he'd listen to Wagner every day and every time he met zis man, I think his name was Fry, he vould say 'thank you, you are a true German' and all ze vhile ze little Jewish boy never left his side...he'd alvays be vhispering and laughing and vell...I'm not sure if i should say diz but, vord around the Reichstag at the time vaz dat he vas actually ze creator of ze Lord Haw Haw programme, vhich of course angered Goebbels...". He then relayed to me that after the collapse of the Third Reich they were nowhere to be found, which wasn't strange, it was always assumed that they had gone to Argentina with the others...

If my friends could see me now...

From the Archives: Episode 1
Discovered during the course of my research was this fruity picture, taken at 'The Sands' in 1963, only days before the Kennedy assasination. You may have to look closely, but astonishingly it appears that Conor was actually there on that very evening. I phoned around a lot of Las Vegas joints where The Rat Pack frequented, in search of some explanation to the mystery, but nobody there had heard of Conor Mc Devitt. I emailed a lady, Jenny Price, whose mother dated Bucky Friedman (grandnephew of Sands founder), was actually the manager (and Maitre De) of 'The Sands' when this picture was taken. We arranged a meeting and Jenny revealed some very interesting information.

Jenny told me about her mother and father and Bucky of course, and about her cat 'Milky Poos', but fascinatingly enough Jenny had shown this picture to her aged mother and she recognised our mystery man. Jenny's mother described this man as 'Frank's Friend'. "Frank's friend, that's how we knew him, 'was the only way anybody knew him, liked to drink a lot and hang out with brods". Jenny then said that her mother recalled a lot of friction between him and 'Deano' (Dean Martin) but Frank always wanted him around. "They'd be like, in the VIP suite, drinkin' and stuff, and laughin' about some grassy knoll thing...I dunno, not much grass out here in Vegas, but they'd, they'd drink and Frank's Friend would tell a lot of jokes and stuff, and they all looked like they'd be havin' a good time...Bucky never knew where he came from, I always reckoned that he was some big hollywood hotshot, on account of him lookin' Jewish and all...'

Jenny told me lots of stories about growing up in Vegas and the rumours that circulated at the time, but the last thing Jenny told me about 'Frank's Friend' stunned me. "Well after Kennedy was assasinated and all, terible time for the Rat Pack, as they were all such good friends an all, nobody ever saw Frank's Friend again, he just up and vanished, nobody knows what happened and nobody ever spoke about it..."