Wake at Birr
The true and humorous tale, though shocking at the time, of the fiasco of my mothers coffin, at her wake in Birr… …
Sleuthing for the German Reillys
ne of the tragic and most interesting things to come out of the Great War and the Second World War was the …
Barbados Chest in a Molly Cottage
* Molly is a townland in North Longford, Ireland, where my great grandmother Margaret Drake (who married Michael O Reilly, she herself …
Basket Across the Boyne
Smoke had cleared, blood clotted, breaths gone Flies feasted on the dead Victories armies raged the land Men fled to hills and …
Saved by the Buttonhole
“They are buttonhole relations, when the buttonhole breaks, they are nothing” ~ North Longford saying The flames of war streaked the sky …
Telegram Ignored
Next of kin – sisters name given: Duty done, family contacted Telegram ignored – the shame, the shame As if kinship itself …
Sleeping, I Did Not See the Dancing Sun
Sleeping, I, I did not see the dancing sun, That my grandfather claimed each Easter to see, That is what you miss …
Irish Family Funerals
Last Patricks Day, everyone else went to the parade dressed in green. Not us. We are Cartys We are from Longford. We …
Beauty Passed, and Yet Still Beautiful
Beauty passed, and yet still beautiful, Walls crumble, slaves to time, build long ago The rhubarb that once here grew I ate, …
The Life Of Reilly’s Grandson
Reilly was the name of my Granny Though Molly was not her name Of Reillys they were many So they were known …
Elegy – Sweet Afton
It was just another brand Just another cigarette Nothing of which to be proud Or noteworthy, but yet To those who with …
The Bodhran and the Goat
The neighbors met in each others houses, to visit for a while Every house had its turn for maybe five or so …
Old Clonbroney
This is a ghost story told to me by my mother, from her grandparents, either Kiernans Mill or Treacys. The roadway mentioned …
The Hungry Grass
A shiver runs up my spine As stories I recall Of people dead in times gone by I was told of when …
Dead Souls And Black Dogs
The little old lady had lived for long, She was great of age And the time was coming along For her to …
Sitting There Saying Nothing
She sits there saying nothing A wee woman and her wains We know not who she is That sits there with her …
I Have Not Seen What My Father Saw
I have seen not what my father saw I have not ploughed the land Or made a ruin into a home With …
December 8th 2011
Cold wet soil of winter Is now her bed, darkness Eternal, wooden case embraces The body now still, but she Feels not …
Did a Spirit Knock On Rossbawn’s Walls?
The story is told that an agent was slain By a tenant called Delaney who on the run did die In caves …