Bob Okowitz

Dug IN Bob Okowitz

My novel chronicles an Irish family's quest for social justice. The book opens up during the 1916 Irish Rebellion. Ninety miles from Dublin, Joe Duggin and two other rebels are arrested to prevent them from getting involved in the fight for Independence. Joe and his friends knew nothing about the Rebellion. They are beaten up in the police station, and not released until the rebellion is over. After Joe gets released, he continues his work to get Irish freedom. He and his friends are horribly beaten up by the police. Despite their great love of Ireland, Joe and his wife, Mary, decide to move to New York to get away from the conflict and raise their children without fears of being arrested. Joe and Mary must leave behind their families and Mary leaves behind her parish priest who has helped her deal with her seventeen year old brother's death during a raid on a nearby English castle. In New York, Joe has to deal with many businesses having "Irish Need Not Apply" signs on their front doors. Is this the English oppression all over again? Joe eventually gets a job at the Kent Ave. Powerhouse and learns about the Triangle Fire in which 145 people died in the five-story building as the doors to the fire escapes were locked from the outside. Joe and Mary decide they need to fight for justice by pusing for unions, and later working for the Catholic Worker soup kitchen where she learns about all the lies used to continue the war in Vietnam. Their first grandson gets cancer and the family rallies to support him through ordeal of chemotherapy. Forty years after their arrival in NYC, the Duggins' two oldest sons are on opposite sides of the 1966 NYC Subway Strike. Jamie is an organizer for the Subway Union; Danny works for a New York bank. Danny's boss tells him to get his brother to stop the strike. Danny gets fired a few days after the strike begins. He becomes depressed and finds visiting his brother, Patrick, in Baltimore, helpful. Patrick is a Josephite priest working to help Blacks.. While there he meets Phillip Berigan and Danny decided to help defend Anti War Protestors. After the Subway Strike is over Jamie's boss, the leader of the union. Mike Quill dies. Jamie gets agitated and acts out, and is put on leave from his job. He gets therapy and finds this helpful.