{"id":2245,"date":"2015-09-03T02:52:36","date_gmt":"2015-09-03T02:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/?p=2245"},"modified":"2015-09-03T03:05:55","modified_gmt":"2015-09-03T03:05:55","slug":"plotting-a-duel-in-merlin-woods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/plotting-a-duel-in-merlin-woods\/","title":{"rendered":"Plotting a Duel in Merlin Woods"},"content":{"rendered":"

Merlin Woods in a wood near where I live. A hospital is there now, and the wood is a public park. However, in days gone by, it is where duels were fought and scores settled. While walking there one day lately, and pondering the stand off over the Banagher Horse Fair<\/strong><\/a>, I wrote these words…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Shadows stand each side of me,
\nChange shape as I pass by
\nThey are but shadows of the trees
\nIn the corner of my eye
\nI tell myself, as dusk falls down
\nNow duellers of times past
\nWhose doubts and debts were settled by deaths
\nInvoked by pistol blast.<\/p>\n

How many died here, through those years?
\nThe history books dont tell
\nIn time we will all know all
\nWho faught, who went to Hell
\nDisputes are not so settled in this modern age
\nPrehaps it is a good thing
\nOr to be fair and settle the issue of the Fair
\nPistols at dawn I to Merlin Woods might have to bring!<\/p>\n

Why cant a people sell horses on a village street
\nAs they have done for centuries past
\nThe whinging of folk with power hungry and powerful folks ears
\nMean these old traditions may not last.
\nIf only it was those times now past
\nThe battle I fair and square would have won
\nFor Id practice will as good as McCarty the Kid
\nDrop all foes with a blast from my gun!<\/p>\n

\"Castle<\/a>
Castle in Merlin Woods<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Glossary<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) Merlin Woods<\/b> – a place outside Galway in the Renmore \/ Doughiska area where duels were fought. Its where I live as I write this poem. More on Merlin Woods >>><\/a><\/i>
\n2) Duel<\/b> – pistol fight, usually at dawn, to the death. The best shot wins, justice of survival, not right.
\n3) Banagher Horse Fair<\/b>, I grew up in Banagher and loved its fair, and am trying to keep it, against a powerful opposition from people with money and the ears of politicians, who are every bit as currupt as The Big House in the Lincoln County War
\n4) McCarty the Kid<\/b> – the story of Billy the Kid vs Brady (a Cavan man). William McCarty (not Carty like me, and we think no relation, though the spelling is the same, we are O’Carty not McCarty!) a.k.a. William Bonney is of a desperado who hated curruption and ended up on the wrong side of the law. Akin to today, the law was brought in not to be just, but to further the aims of a section of society at the expense of the rest.
\n5) Desire to duel:<\/b> In courts, you get state justice, what the powers that be want, not what is just. In a duel, you stand a better chance, depending on your shooting skills!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Merlin Woods in a wood near where I live. A hospital is there now, and the wood is a public park. However, in days gone by, it is where duels were fought and scores settled. While walking there one day lately, and pondering the stand off over the Banagher Horse …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[439,1651,90],"tags":[718,2394,391,1565,2393,1729],"class_list":["post-2245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-banagher","category-gander-around-galway","category-walking-verses","tag-banagher-horse-fair","tag-duel","tag-galway","tag-merlin-woods","tag-pondering","tag-renmore","column","twocol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-Ad","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1636,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/merlin-woods-spring-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":2245,"position":0},"title":"Merlin Woods – Spring Morning","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"16th April 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The castle watches over landscape changed By mans creation, not the acts of war like before As in former times, this land knows peace Buy yet may know destruction once more... Trees planted in vision to be grown Among his descendants to be walked He could not have seen the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Gander Around Galway"","block_context":{"text":"Gander Around Galway","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/travel-poems\/gander-around-galway\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":601,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/streets-of-shame-in-2014-but-banagher-horse-fair-prevails\/","url_meta":{"origin":2245,"position":1},"title":"Streets of Shame in 2014 – But Banagher Horse Fair Prevails","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"17th September 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"It was a scene of shame for the Garda\u00ed in Banagher this past weekend, as on the the Saturday, en force they arrived, with Revenue men and Dept. of Agriculture personnel and turned away visiting people from Banagher, telling them that there was no horse fair. A Facebook campaign is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Banagher"","block_context":{"text":"Banagher","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/banagher\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Banagher Horse Fair - Fun of the Fair - Picture Dave Boylan","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Banagher-Horse-Fair-Fun-of-the-Fair-Picture-Dave-Boylan.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Banagher-Horse-Fair-Fun-of-the-Fair-Picture-Dave-Boylan.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Banagher-Horse-Fair-Fun-of-the-Fair-Picture-Dave-Boylan.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Banagher-Horse-Fair-Fun-of-the-Fair-Picture-Dave-Boylan.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Banagher-Horse-Fair-Fun-of-the-Fair-Picture-Dave-Boylan.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4352,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/tom-moran-lusmagh-horse-trader-remembered\/","url_meta":{"origin":2245,"position":2},"title":"Tom Moran – Lusmagh Horsetrader Remembered","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"15th April 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"From youth, from Lusmagh with his stock Among the traders there From far and near, home and abroad All met at Banagher Fair. Bargained, argued, deals were struck Settled by spit on the hand More failed to agree price both thought was fair As each one held his stand. Times\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Banagher"","block_context":{"text":"Banagher","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/banagher\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The late Tom Moran of Lusmagh","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The-late-Tom-Moran-of-Lusmagh.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1377,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/merlin-woods-christmas-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":2245,"position":3},"title":"Merlin Woods: Christmas Morning","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"25th December 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I did not join they praying crowds In man built temples made of stone I did not go to pray as such Where I went walking on my own In Merlin Woods where each step Echod like a thunderclap Breaking a crytal skin of ice over each pebble and twig\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Christmas Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Christmas Poetry","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/christmas-poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2766,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/flying-a-drone-in-merlin-woods\/","url_meta":{"origin":2245,"position":4},"title":"Flying a Drone in Merlin Woods","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"27th May 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Flying a drone in the Merlin Woods in Galway today, I thought of when I watched the movie \"Eye in the Sky\" a few weeks back and how folk fear drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan and such places... Perfect weather for flying Little wind, warm sun, not too many passers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Gander Around Galway"","block_context":{"text":"Gander Around Galway","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/travel-poems\/gander-around-galway\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4955,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/forests-of-concrete-grow-where-nature-made-homes\/","url_meta":{"origin":2245,"position":5},"title":"Forests of Concrete Grow Where Nature Made Homes","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"28th March 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A path led on in the peaceful woods, And ended all too soon Cut in two by a wide new road Each side daffodils in bloom Through which cars drove and lorries too A meadow stands alone Yet planners draw the dreams they saw Where grass till now has grown.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Environment","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Rosshill-Woods-the-remnant-of-the-southern-part-of-Merlin-Woods.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Rosshill-Woods-the-remnant-of-the-southern-part-of-Merlin-Woods.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Rosshill-Woods-the-remnant-of-the-southern-part-of-Merlin-Woods.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Rosshill-Woods-the-remnant-of-the-southern-part-of-Merlin-Woods.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Rosshill-Woods-the-remnant-of-the-southern-part-of-Merlin-Woods.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Rosshill-Woods-the-remnant-of-the-southern-part-of-Merlin-Woods.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2245","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=2245"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2254,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2245\/revisions\/2254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}