This day we all remember
\nAs we are asked to and yet
\nIt seems our own who faught for their own land
\nWe are asked to forget.<\/p>\n
Tom Kettle: a hugely popular teacher at UCD
\nFree Gallant Little Belgium
\nThat raped Africa to the bone
\nAnd fight the Kaiser for freedom:
\nWas Germany to Ireland the Imperial one?
\nDid Germany let the Irish starve
\nForce us to speak their tongue
\nReduce our people on the social ladder
\nTo be the lowest rung?
\nDid these men who fought neath the flag
\nFight for Ireland in their time?
\nOr did they stone Sinn Fein offices in Banagher
\nSaying to fight for freedom was a crime?
\nLet us remember OUR HEROS
\nWho for OUR FREEDOM fought
\nRemember them, and not forget
\nEvery Irishman ought.<\/p>\n
In the pogroms of Ulster
\nIn 1969, it was said
\nThey would not idly stand by:
\nWords uttered but instead
\nThey DID stand by, and cornerboys
\nFrom the Bogside and the Falls
\nBecame men when they took up the gun
\nFor they WERE MEN, with BALLS
\nAnd the Free States Plastic Army
\nProtected no one at all
\nAnd the brave hunger strikers
\nAll but criminals them they did call
\nAtrocities were by our side committed
\nThat I admit and dont deny
\nBut I am proud of ALL the men
\nWho faught so ur flag on our land can fly.
\nThe men of the Somme faught not for Ireland
\nBut for the Empire they carried the gun
\nPeasents, it was with shotguns
\nAnd cornerboys, our freedom for us won.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This day we all remember As we are asked to and yet It seems our own who faught for their own land We are asked to forget. Tom Kettle: a hugely popular teacher at UCD Free Gallant Little Belgium That raped Africa to the bone And fight the Kaiser for …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[476,37,97,530],"tags":[1381,1380,1379,336,644,389],"class_list":["post-1221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1916-easter-rising","category-irish-war-of-independence-1919-1921","category-the-great-war","category-the-troubles-since-1969","tag-great-war","tag-irish-in-the-great-war","tag-tom-kettle","tag-war-2","tag-war-poetry-2","tag-world-war-one","column","twocol"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-jH","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2474,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/those-who-fought-on-that-side\/","url_meta":{"origin":1221,"position":0},"title":"Those Who Fought on That Side","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"2nd January 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many men faught not for Ireland But under another flag And of their deeds our folklore feeds Of them we like to brag But there are those of whom A silence does not speak A veil is drawn as if to warn That knowledge of them one should not seek.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ulster Scots"","block_context":{"text":"Ulster Scots","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/ireland\/ulster-scots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"He never fired a shot, but was part of the regime. Many other Irish did, only a few of the less successful and addition being profiled in the book ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.culturenorthernireland.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/slideshow_-_non-scaled_full_width\/public\/francisstuart.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1366,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/walking-past-adamnans-church-in-birr\/","url_meta":{"origin":1221,"position":1},"title":"Walking Past Adamnans Church in Birr","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"17th December 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Its just another ruined church to some, but St Brendans Old Church in Birr is where a little known Irish saint wrote modern Europes first rules of war, and womens rights in battle, and not to fight in war, which is being eroded today. In those times, heads were taken\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birr"","block_context":{"text":"Birr","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/birr\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Saint Brendans Church in Birr where Adamnan wrote \"The Law of the Innocents\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Saint-Brendans-Church-in-Birr-where-Adamnan-wrote-The-Law-of-the-Innocents.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Saint-Brendans-Church-in-Birr-where-Adamnan-wrote-The-Law-of-the-Innocents.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Saint-Brendans-Church-in-Birr-where-Adamnan-wrote-The-Law-of-the-Innocents.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Saint-Brendans-Church-in-Birr-where-Adamnan-wrote-The-Law-of-the-Innocents.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2048,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/ar-dheis-de-go-raibh-a-hanam\/","url_meta":{"origin":1221,"position":2},"title":"Ar Dheis D\u00e9 go Raibh a hanam","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"10th July 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Remembering the fallen Irish of both world wars, who were forgotton due to the stigma of being in the British Army Their pain now passed, and families Who were left behind when they did die Can now speak public of the unspoken Who for another flag did die. If they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Great War"","block_context":{"text":"The Great War","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/war-poetry\/the-great-war\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2863,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/three-men-dead\/","url_meta":{"origin":1221,"position":3},"title":"Three Men Dead","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"22nd June 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"On listening to a talk about three men killed by firing squad in Birr castle in 1922 during the Irish Civil War. They were killed for breaking and entering, not as a combatant element. No poems written, no ballads sung Yet feted as hero's, from life's bottom rung Shot as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birr"","block_context":{"text":"Birr","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/birr\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"In this archway the three Republican prisoners were executed by Free State forces at Birr Castle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/In-this-archway-the-three-Republican-prisoners-were-executed-by-Free-State-forces-at-Birr-Castle-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1106,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/life-to-his-kind-was-a-game-of-chance\/","url_meta":{"origin":1221,"position":4},"title":"Life to His Kind Was a Game of Chance – the story of Tom Reilly, an Irish Soldier of Fortune","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"11th November 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pZ1DRqo2UNQ Adventures sake Brought the young sons of Erin Into uniform Thoughts of great glory Among shot and shell in hell Of the battlefield To return to home To kisses of loved ones And relieved mothers As hero's of old Of whom they heard as children At their mothers knee.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Non Rhyming Poems"","block_context":{"text":"Non Rhyming Poems","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/non-rhyming-poems\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tom Reilly, an Irish Soldier of Fortune","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/tomreilly.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/tomreilly.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/tomreilly.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4105,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/ireland-is-it-but-a-notion\/","url_meta":{"origin":1221,"position":5},"title":"Ireland – Is It But a Notion?","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"4th November 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As the Catalan Independence movement is crushed for now by Spain, we remember the Irish declaration of 1919... the events of the last few weeks show that war not peace makes nations free, alas... Ireland... is it but a notion Of a land that never was... But in the dreams\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "1916 Easter Rising"","block_context":{"text":"1916 Easter Rising","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/irelands-wars\/1916-easter-rising\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Irish Declaration of Independence - 21st of January 1919","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Irish-Declaration-of-Independence-21st-of-Janauary-1919-187x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1221"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1222,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1221\/revisions\/1222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}