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Radio Free Eireann
Sun, Dec 21, 2025 11:00 AM
MALACHY WITH “CHRISTMAS IS A SAD TIME FOR THE POOR,”
I’ll be airing what I believe is the finest reading of John Cheever’s 1949 classic short story, “Christmas Is a Sad Time for the Poor,” performed by Malachy McCourt. Darkly humorous and quietly devastating, the story follows Charlie, an elevator operator who finds himself exploited by the wealthy as he struggles to buy Christmas gifts. Cheever strips away the sentimentality of the season, exposing the class divide and the fleeting, often self-serving nature of upper-class charity. It’s a Christmas story that turns the usual warmth on its head, revealing how the holiday feels from the other side of prosperity. I’ll close the program with the uncensored version of “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues—because no song captures the beauty, bruises, and contradictions of Christmas quite like that one.
