\n
\nWilliam Butler Yeats poems in memory of Major William Robert Gregory celebrate him as an Irish airman, not giving the fact that he was a lover of the empire and stood against everything the poor of Kiltartan loved or wanted.<\/p>\n
This poem explored that aspect of Lady Gregorys son, who did not share his mothers politics.<\/p>\n
He died far from Kiltartans poor being shot down by friendly fire in Italy, and far from for them in fighting for Crown and Country. Its the latest of the poems restored that were on it before the site crashed last year!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Far from Kiltartans poor he died
\nAs to fight for his dream he tried
\nTo outdo his enemy he vied
\nOnly by his own to be shot down<\/p>\nAnd a poet who of the war vowed not to write
\nAs it was no a writers war to fight
\nNor a fit subject for verse in his sight
\nWrote of an allied airman who fought for the crown<\/p>\nFor far from the cause of liberty
\nSo for Serbia and Belgium to be free
\nAnd Ireland too – far from that he
\nWore uniform among the clouds<\/p>\nIt was for empire to remain great
\nTo be the worlds most powerful state
\nWhite, English, of the Reformed faith
\nHe died, far from Kiltartans crowds<\/p>\nFor it was far from fighting for Kiltartans poor
\nHe died far from Kiltartan it is sure
\nHe desired to keep them so, his heart was pure
\nBritish, to the very bone.<\/p>\nAnd the Kaiser, whose forces he faced
\nWhose Empire his own displaced
\nWas no more Kiltartans enemy disgraced
\nThan was the Hero from among their own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"William Butler Yeats poems in memory of Major William Robert Gregory celebrate him as an Irish airman, not giving the fact that he was a lover of the empire and stood against everything the poor of Kiltartan loved or wanted. This poem explored that aspect of Lady Gregorys son, who …<\/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":[37,308,213],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-irish-war-of-independence-1919-1921","category-obituaries","category-war","column","twocol"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-GS","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2863,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/three-men-dead\/","url_meta":{"origin":2658,"position":0},"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":2658,"position":1},"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":3473,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/village-of-the-three-generals\/","url_meta":{"origin":2658,"position":2},"title":"Village of the Three Generals","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"5th January 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"St Johnstown, or Ballinalee From where the three generals hail Monroe, Wilson and McEoin Two Scotsmen, one of the Gael. All men brave in their own way By their enemies feared and respected Europe, America and Ireland Their destinies by them affected. The Huran, the German and the Tans Met\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ireland"","block_context":{"text":"Ireland","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/ireland\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Monroe, Wison and Mc Eoin were all born and reared in the hinterlands of Ballinalee, or St Johnstown as it was also known in former times.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Ballinalee.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Ballinalee.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Ballinalee.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Ballinalee.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":334,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/no-crusaders-they\/","url_meta":{"origin":2658,"position":3},"title":"No Crusaders They","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"18th May 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"No crusaders they were, on holy war... 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In the face of Fascism, if Christ was on earth at that time, He too would have fought for the Republic!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Irish-volunteers-who-fought-for-the-Spanish-Republic.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":43,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/letter-to-an-unknown-soldier\/","url_meta":{"origin":2658,"position":4},"title":"Letter to an Unknown Soldier","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"3rd July 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"We all have a British soldier from WWI in the family. Only now can we recognise them. This is dedicated to them. Part of the \"Letter to an Unknown Soldier\" project. Far from home, arais i Eireann You do not speak your own language, nor do I, Nor the language\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":"Letter-to-an-Unknown-Soldier","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Letter-to-an-Unknown-Soldier-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1709,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/forgotten-famine-in-a-free-state\/","url_meta":{"origin":2658,"position":5},"title":"Forgotten Famine in a Free State","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"13th May 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"1916 - A Broken Dream by 1926 The forgotten famine, the Spailpin Fanach decimated, never in the history books, the forgotten declaration of 1916, was it for that that those men and O'Leary died? 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