Salmon Fisherman in River Corrib
On taking a picture of salmon fishers at the Salmon Wier in the Corrib a few days ago, I thought of Yeats …
No Tales Out of School
In days of old if you were bold Or not, and got yourself slapped by the rule Your parents you never told …
Listen Not to the Song of the Merrow
Men of Erin, and all men, who in Erin you may be Listen not to the Merrow song that sounds with such …
Blinded By Pokemon
I went walking with the housemate who never walks a few mornings back… looking for Pokemon. She didnt see the cat running …
Death of and at Garristown and its Horse Fair
The sad and tragic story of the demise and the cause of the demise of Garristown Horse Fair, and as an apperant …
Lady of Lough Gowna
An eerie cry echos the evening air The mermaids plaintive song The saying among the folk that know Is there will be …
Pretty Smiles and Pigtails – The Mary Boyle Mystery
Watching Gemma O’Doherty’s documentary on the missing child Mary Boyle nearly forty years ago is chilling, with interference at a political level …
Dark Ages Return to Earth
Trump getting into power in America on the back of hate, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farange gaining a foothold in the UK …
Black Irish
Donald Trump has a massive Irish following, a large element who hate Obama and call him Muslim, and that he cannot be …
The Bright Star of Ireland – The Jealous Queen
From a folktale recorded by a Longford schoolboy who was told it by a Louthman who was travelling the area looking for …
Abduction at Legan Bridge
Bride abduction is thankfully very rare in Western Europe now, apart from Albania and Montenegro, and most commonly heard of from Kyrgistan …
Whisht Held Well
“Hoult yer whisht” ~ keep quiet about that A whisht held well, held for too long So none could tell of the …
On The Border Run
The line that Craig the clever chap Carving Ulster in three, drew on a map The maximum area the minority could hold …
Aughnacliffe Dolmen for the Lovers for One Night is Their Bed
A bed hard of stone neath the sky starry above Is good enough, soft enough, for a couple in love He who …
Passing Ballybrit Castle
By force won from the feirce O’Flahertys Held by Burke for the English Crown On the wrong side of the Wars of …
High Cost of Cheap Beef From Brazil
The powers that be tell you that we Should be happy with beef from Brazil They suppose its racist to oppose What …
Holy Waters of Saint Bridget at Ballycumber
This story I first heard from a poem read by Rosemary Porter at Banaghers “Readings from the Pallet” festival some years back. …
Miracle at Saint St Augustine’s Holy Well
All hope gone bar blind faith The child to the well he was brought In desperation and pure belief was bathed A …
Catch of the Merrow
The Merrow (Moruadh or Murrúghach, from muir, sea, and oigh, a maid) was a sea spirit thought to lure people to their …
Celtic Tiger was Not By Poets Built
You cant build a house with words, you know – Chris McCormack Houses are not by words built They are by developers …