{"id":4917,"date":"2021-01-10T11:02:38","date_gmt":"2021-01-10T11:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/?p=4917"},"modified":"2021-01-10T11:02:38","modified_gmt":"2021-01-10T11:02:38","slug":"harps-of-granard-had-an-echo-far-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/harps-of-granard-had-an-echo-far-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Harps of Granard Had an Echo Far Away"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/index.php\/harps-of-granard-had-an-echo-far-away\/the-hapr-of-erin-engraving-19th-century\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4918\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-4918\" src=\"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/The-Hapr-of-Erin-Engraving-19th-century.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"291\" height=\"357\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/The-Hapr-of-Erin-Engraving-19th-century.jpg 291w, https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/The-Hapr-of-Erin-Engraving-19th-century-245x300.jpg 245w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 291px) 100vw, 291px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Airs that filled the Granard air<br \/>\nEcho to us this day<br \/>\nFingers danced on the taut strings<br \/>\nOf the harps that the harpists play<br \/>\nWe talk in wonder of the time<br \/>\nWhen our music was nearly lost<br \/>\nYet saved at that festival at that time<br \/>\nYet few know the true cost&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>The trader from Denmark who out west<br \/>\nCame east, his fortune made<br \/>\nDid not like the history books to often tell<br \/>\nOf honest business make his trade&#8230;<br \/>\nWe had our part to play its true:<br \/>\nOf our culture what remains&#8230;<br \/>\nThe harp of freedom our fingers pluck<br \/>\nIs echo&#8217;d from afar by rattling of slaves chains&#8230;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Background:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Granard Harp Festival &#8211; among other lesser known events of its time &#8211; has been credited by history as being the savior of ancient Irish musical airs. During its day, the harp was used as the icon of freedom, with one lodge of the United Irishmen using the slogan &#8220;It plays of freedom and is newly strung&#8221; &#8211; now seen as the motto of the entire orginisation.<\/p>\n<p>Slavery, <a href=\"https:\/\/answersonapostcard.weebly.com\/answers-on-a-postcard\/christopher-macevoy-of-st-croix-copenhagen-and-london-a-family-of-planters-merchants-and-slave-traders-part-one\">the goods produced by slavery, and the shipping of slaves<\/a> and dealing in them was the business of John Dungan and his business partners &#8211; McEvoys and others, is from where he got the money to fund the Harp Festival.<\/p>\n<p>So the harp of freedom had an echo far away of the rattle of chains, the chorus of the songs echo&#8217;d by the cries of despair of the slaves tears.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Airs that filled the Granard air Echo to us this day Fingers danced on the taut strings Of the harps that the harpists play We talk in wonder of the time When our music was nearly lost Yet saved at that festival at that time Yet few know the true &#8230;<\/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":[3429,2925,2386],"tags":[116,4393,4392,1445,2387],"class_list":["post-4917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lesser-known-ireland","category-longford","category-slavery","tag-granard","tag-granard-harp-festival","tag-john-dungan","tag-slavery","tag-st-croix","column","twocol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-1hj","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/distant-city-close-experience\/","url_meta":{"origin":4917,"position":0},"title":"Distant City, Close Experience","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"4th August 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Gaza and Granard, both experienced revenge attacks from insurgents activities, bar Gaza is on a greater scale than anything the Black and Tans did. Thats Palestine in perspective. Distant city, facing oblivion, Native people, now in the way, Resistance resisted, to be annihilated\u2026 That was our towns on a now\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Irish War of Independence 1919- 1921&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Irish War of Independence 1919- 1921","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/irelands-wars\/irish-war-of-independence-1919-1921\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3744,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/horsemen-awaited-at-bunlahy\/","url_meta":{"origin":4917,"position":1},"title":"Horsemen Awaited at Bunlahy","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"29th May 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Background - Sean Mac Eoin told of a Tracey family related to him that had two brothers in the fight at Granard, and this tale which I have recorded in verse of their people. These probably would also be the Treacys of my great grandmothers people. The French are beyond\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;1798 Rebellion&quot;","block_context":{"text":"1798 Rebellion","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/irelands-wars\/1798-rebellion\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jack B Yeats illustration from Big Tree of Bunlahy - it was a focal point of the village, some say it blew down on the Night of the Big Wind","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Jack-B-Yeats-illustration-from-Big-Tree-of-Bunlahy-1024x862.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Jack-B-Yeats-illustration-from-Big-Tree-of-Bunlahy-1024x862.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Jack-B-Yeats-illustration-from-Big-Tree-of-Bunlahy-1024x862.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2239,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/bitter-sugar\/","url_meta":{"origin":4917,"position":2},"title":"Bitter Sugar","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"31st August 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The island of St. Croix has a Granard, Annally, Longford, Corn Hill, Cartys, Cartys Point, and Madame Cartys placenames. All very quant and interesting until we realise these were some of the slave owners... A distant isle, where it rarely rains Families in a Granard that never burned Bar neath\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Moral&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Moral","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/moral\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writerscafe.org\/images\/quote_start.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":213,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/stone-angels-stone-hearts\/","url_meta":{"origin":4917,"position":3},"title":"Stone Angels, Stone Hearts","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"11th June 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Pennies of the poor gathered, one by one, counted Thousands, and hundreds of thousands, from the faithful amounted... Destroyed one cold morning, the temple took years to rebuild from the earth Nearby once upon a time, in a grotto, a child of Marys years died in a grotto giving birth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;North Longford&quot;","block_context":{"text":"North Longford","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/north-longford\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Stone Angels at St Mels Cathedral in Longford","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Stone-Angels-at-St-Mels-Cathederal-in-Longford.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Stone-Angels-at-St-Mels-Cathederal-in-Longford.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Stone-Angels-at-St-Mels-Cathederal-in-Longford.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Stone-Angels-at-St-Mels-Cathederal-in-Longford.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Stone-Angels-at-St-Mels-Cathederal-in-Longford.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2638,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/naked-protest-at-derrycassin\/","url_meta":{"origin":4917,"position":4},"title":"Naked Protest at Derrycassin","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"7th April 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"April 20th 1847 Men, children and women with clothes cast away Came to Derrycassin door To protest and plunder for want of food For work was finished, and they were poor. As sooner die of gunshot they said As hunger, they had nothing left No home, no food, no future:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Great Famine&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Great Famine","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/ireland\/great-famine\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A naked protest was a Gaelic tradition to shame the protested into doing the right thing. Clothes among the poor were scant in those days anyway, and it makes us coil in horror at the destitution in a land of plenty...","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Naked-Famine-Protest.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Naked-Famine-Protest.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Naked-Famine-Protest.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Naked-Famine-Protest.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Naked-Famine-Protest.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1859,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/no-room-at-the-inn\/","url_meta":{"origin":4917,"position":5},"title":"No Room at the Inn","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"10th June 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"She died alone, like a cow in a field, the papers wrote Nothing new there, comment passed as true as it was wry No cows to breath on her newborn in a manger No Joseph to stand by and hold her hand, world wonders how: why... No shepherds came to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Catholic Church Scandals&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Catholic Church Scandals","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/ireland\/catholic-church-scandals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Grotto at Granard where Ann Lovett had her baby son that died after whom she passed away","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Grotto-at-Granard-where-Ann-Lovett-had-her-baby-son-that-died-after-whom-she-passed-away.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Grotto-at-Granard-where-Ann-Lovett-had-her-baby-son-that-died-after-whom-she-passed-away.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Grotto-at-Granard-where-Ann-Lovett-had-her-baby-son-that-died-after-whom-she-passed-away.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Grotto-at-Granard-where-Ann-Lovett-had-her-baby-son-that-died-after-whom-she-passed-away.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Grotto-at-Granard-where-Ann-Lovett-had-her-baby-son-that-died-after-whom-she-passed-away.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4917","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=4917"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4920,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4917\/revisions\/4920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}