Martin Flemming was born in County Claire. When he was three his mother, Colleen, travelled back to Northren Ireland on a quest to locate his father, a man Martin had never known named Tomas. While in Belfast, where she had heard he was, she was severely injured in a bombing. She managed to contact Tomas Flemming, however, and entrust her son into his care before dying as a result of her injuries.
Tomas was an IRA man but loved his son so he tried as hard as possible to raise the boy. Martin stayed with his father until he was seven. Then Tomas, who had stumbled across explosive IRA information, took Martin to his brother's for safety's sake. He promised to come back and see Martin, but was never able to. Martin didn't know what became of his father, and spent the next eight years living with his stern uncle, Douglas Flemming (Why it was Douglas and not Tomas' brother Patrick who raised Tomas is unknown. Patrick was married with a daughter on the way when Tomas sought to put his son somewhere safe, and he was far closer to Patrick than to Douglas. For whatever reason, Patrick was never told about this nephew).
As Martin worked through school, it became quickly apparent that he was posessing of a strange natural genius, and Douglas, whose brother Patrick had the same extreme intellegence, was threatened by the youngster. Martin struggled through the next eight years at his uncle's, hated by Douglas, tolerated by his wife and constantly at odds with his children. When he was seventeen he ran away to Belfast, perhaps trying to find his father.
He didn't find Tomas, but he did find a grandfatherly man called Flynn who took him in. Flynn helped Martin work through college and taught him about politics. He offered Martin a job working with an IRA group who would "restore freedom to Ireland." At Martin's questions, Flynn added the attractive proposition that he would help find Tomas. Martin accepted and the Dormouse began training him after he graduated from a two-year course in the University of Belfast. They went to Dublin and Flynn began training Martin for the job. "Someday," he told the young man, "You'll replace me as the leader of this gang." Martin worked hard, looking up to Flynn as a substitute for his faher, whose fate was never known by Martin. |
