A Great Place to Go Mad
Background: I grew up with stories of my father on his honeymoon on the west coast describing it as “a great place …
Had She Never Written a Poem
Oh that as they lay there On the floor of the family home Taken by gas like to many of their folk …
Red Wolf Returns from the Mountains
When the wolf gets red, he becomes an ugly customer. ليوه چه سور کيږي ګنده کيږي Bannuchis say this of Wazirs, but …
The Unlikely Rebel
Softly spoken, without the braggarts yell, His words echo far, the truth they tell, Bring all to their feet, in support or …
The New Normal Looks like the Old Normal as Scene of the Rhyme returns to Tullamore
The world is a different place than it was two short years ago. Caution, the first cousin of fear, still stalks the …
Hope is a Horse Fair in Banagher
Our old house, Babser Hynses on the right, is boarded up now. But at least its not torn down, as the developers …
Blackbirds at Ballinamuck Sing in The Trees
The blackbirds at Ballinamuck sing among the trees Where the rebels, prone, were slain, English cavalry chased through where horses could run …
Pilgrim of Invea
The pilgrim died, as the least of men But others learned in a dream That he, who had arrived alone one night …
Out for a Walk at Ballybrit
An old couple of a dateless age,Over sixty, under ninety, somewhere between:Out for their daily walk with their two little dogs,Theirs strolls …
Afghanistan Burning
Afghanistan burning, though most is not,Having surrendered without a shot,Their President is their “Sheamus a Chac”Who fled and flew without looking back,The …
When The Devil Was Beat by Duffy
A common folk story in Europe, in North Longford it was attributed to a local blacksmith as the hero of the tale, …
Memories of Grandmother at Drumnahara
The shaking hands that set the plate Of ice cream and jelly that vibrate With an old woman’s smile under curled hair …
Before the Very First Poem
In a time before poetry was written or read, Before a song was sung, or a tale said, They lived in a …
Reflections on Fundamentalism and Paganism
The statues by which some faiths pray To help or to for them intercede Angers those of a fundamentalist streak Who see …
Tragedy at Kien-ning
Mary Darley, in missionary work in China, told the story of a lady so devoted to Bhuddism, that she lost her life …
No Water at Saint Enda’s Holy Well
I stopped at St Enda’s Holy Well in Bearna, to find no water there. As I sat down beside it, I pondered …
The Fairy Boatmen of Banagher
Verse inspired by a story from the folkore collection Out walking his dog on a July evening In the river there afloat …
Waves Neath Keel
Waves neath keel toss boat up and down Wind filled sails power her forward… To tack the tiller to port is turned …
The Best Room
Some Irish hate our past. One who shall not be named has made his latest Quixotic attack: it is on the old …
The Three Wishes of Willie the Wisp
Based on the story from the Folklore Commission https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5009178/4994671 There once was a blacksmith as broke as could be, Who no future …