{"id":4966,"date":"2021-04-30T06:31:42","date_gmt":"2021-04-30T05:31:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/?p=4966"},"modified":"2021-04-30T06:31:42","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T05:31:42","slug":"shore-road-to-roscam-abbey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/shore-road-to-roscam-abbey\/","title":{"rendered":"Shore Road to Roscam Abbey"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Poetry Day Ireland: Thomas Carty.\" width=\"660\" height=\"371\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XbJhhzLYJQs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>I walked upon an ancient road<br \/>\nSlowly taken now by the sea,<br \/>\nThe Atlantic tides ebbed and flowed<br \/>\nI walked the line of seaweed.<\/p>\n<p>Thought I, while stumbling on pebbles there too<br \/>\nAnd rocks, and gravel much like shale,<br \/>\nIn a summer breeze was hard to do<br \/>\nNever mind a wild strong winters gale.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is life!&#8221; This road that once on a map<br \/>\nFrom fishing village to church here led, (1)<br \/>\nWhere torn waves splash and slap<br \/>\nAs I walk to see the dead<\/p>\n<p>Where they; &#8211; some neath faded carved stones<br \/>\nMore in crypts and tombs worn, still grand<br \/>\nYet more graves, barely marked, held bones:<br \/>\nContemplating life and death, there I stand&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Among graves of those who died before the English lived<br \/>\nWho short hair as proper for the Irish decreed<br \/>\nIn a time to come that is tragic history now<br \/>\nWe suffer from still, each cruel deed&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Some march today to oppose our right (2)<br \/>\nTo freedom, unity, culture that was won<br \/>\nThrough lost rebellion, from Ballinamuck we did fight<br \/>\nTo 1916 before we turned the gun<\/p>\n<p>On out own, in Civil War, as England looked on and smiled<br \/>\nBitter we scowl, argue, and bury our dead<br \/>\nThese graves date from a time when a child<br \/>\nWould not have seen England on a map, but instead<\/p>\n<p>A land where Irish kings got wives (3)<br \/>\nNorse and Gaelic there the tongues they&#8217;d talk<br \/>\nThe ordinary folk, and monks, whose lives<br \/>\nI honour, as among their graves I walk.<\/p>\n<p>This is life, among death, this is life&#8217;s map unfurled &#8211;<br \/>\nOur acts are the road and routes we draw<br \/>\nWhich others must walk &#8211; we mould their world<br \/>\nTime in its waves and storms all shall destroy<\/p>\n<p>Others to come will walk and wonder<br \/>\nAt our maps, that future road, ruin and path<br \/>\nBy then, by storms, erosion, torn asunder<br \/>\nAnd ponder us of the present, their past: and what we were at.<\/p>\n<p>(1) Road to Roscam Abbey, and from there back into Ballyloughane and todays Renmore.<br \/>\n(2) Anti Irish Sea Border loyalist marches,<br \/>\n(3) Many Irish kings married Saxon princesses, including Brian Boru<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I walked upon an ancient road Slowly taken now by the sea, The Atlantic tides ebbed and flowed I walked the line of seaweed. Thought I, while stumbling on pebbles there too And rocks, and gravel much like shale, In a summer breeze was hard to do Never mind a &#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":[2925,4232,840],"tags":[4234,4414,4415],"class_list":["post-4966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-longford","category-longford-writers-group","category-passage-of-time","tag-longford-writers-group","tag-poetry-day","tag-poetry-day-2021","column","twocol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-1i6","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4000,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/the-famine-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":4966,"position":0},"title":"The Famine Cross","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"28th September 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"At the back of St Josephs Hospital in Longford, there is the local famine graveyard. This poem is dedicated to those interred there during the famine, and until the home closed, those folks were the poorest of the poor. They died while in the workhouse, of which the father of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Art Inspired Poetry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Art Inspired Poetry","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/art-inspired-poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Famine Cross in Longford - Photo by Lalin Swaris","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The-Famine-Cross-in-Longford-Photo-by-Lalin-Swaris-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The-Famine-Cross-in-Longford-Photo-by-Lalin-Swaris-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/The-Famine-Cross-in-Longford-Photo-by-Lalin-Swaris-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4016,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/culture-night-in-cafe-45-longford-leads-in-literature-and-arts\/","url_meta":{"origin":4966,"position":1},"title":"Culture Night in Cafe 45 &#8211; Longford Leads in Literature and Arts","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"29th September 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This Culture Night I was in Longford reading with Longford Writers Group who I joined lately, in Cafe 45, after which I ran into friends from Tullamore of all places, before visiting the art exhibit in Providers. While at home after I was listening to a show from Cavan where\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Longford Writers in Cafe 45 for Culture Night 2017 - Photo Montage by Sally Martin","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Longford-Writers-in-Cafe-45-for-Culture-Night-2017-Photo-Montage-by-Sally-Martin-300x171.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4577,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/home-made-explores-concept-of-home-for-longford-writers-group\/","url_meta":{"origin":4966,"position":2},"title":"&#8220;Home Made&#8221; explores concept of home for Longford Writers Group","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"3rd December 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Longford Writers Group - featuring yours truly - launched their anthology of poems and stories in Longford Library, to the musical accompaniment of Bernie on the keyboard, and Valerie on vocals. The anthology explored the concept of home, as it is known to each of us, and a contribution\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Launch of \"Home Made\" - the anthology of Longford Writers Group","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Launch-of-Home-Made-the-anthology-of-Longford-Writers-Group-1024x467.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Launch-of-Home-Made-the-anthology-of-Longford-Writers-Group-1024x467.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Launch-of-Home-Made-the-anthology-of-Longford-Writers-Group-1024x467.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3522,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/padraic-colum-longford-writer-and-riot-inciter\/","url_meta":{"origin":4966,"position":3},"title":"Padraic Colum : Longford Writer and Riot Inciter","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"13th February 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Padraic Colum was one of Longfords most famous modern literary figures. The son of a workhouse master, he grew up in the Longford Workhouse, was the cause of the awakening to the cause of Irish freedom of Constance Gore Booth, and was a noted encourager of James Joyce when he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Masthead of \"The Longford Eye\" who first published this article based on the photo from Lalin Swaris","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Padriac-Colum.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Padriac-Colum.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Padriac-Colum.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Padriac-Colum.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Padriac-Colum.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":146,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/walking-by-swans-at-lough-sallagh\/","url_meta":{"origin":4966,"position":4},"title":"Walking by Swans at Lough Sallagh","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"10th June 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"As if applause, a clap clap clap Echos the evening air As I walk past spectators And yet, there's no-one there. It is no ghostly apparition Of which these lands are famed But mother natures creatures Wild and free, swans... untamed. Their wings slap against the surface As to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Environment&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Environment","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lough Sallagh in Longford. (c) Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh 2013","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Swans-swim-on-Lough-Sallagh-at-Ballinamuck-in-Longford.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Swans-swim-on-Lough-Sallagh-at-Ballinamuck-in-Longford.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Swans-swim-on-Lough-Sallagh-at-Ballinamuck-in-Longford.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Swans-swim-on-Lough-Sallagh-at-Ballinamuck-in-Longford.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Swans-swim-on-Lough-Sallagh-at-Ballinamuck-in-Longford.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4857,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/sitting-shoreside-by-nabelwy-lake\/","url_meta":{"origin":4966,"position":5},"title":"Sitting Shoreside by Nabelwy Lake","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"30th November 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Looking back through photos, a shot of Lough Nabelwy reminded me of one of my favourite walks in North Longford, and of other travels. No matter how exotic where we travel to, there truly is nowhere like home, especially in these concerning times. Shoreside by a Longford lake, Towards Leitrim\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Lesser Known Ireland&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Lesser Known Ireland","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/lesser-known-ireland\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lough Nabelwy looking towards the Leitrim bank from the Longford Bank","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Lough-Nabelwy-looking-towards-the-Leitrim-bank-from-the-Longford-Bank-e1606699018677.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Lough-Nabelwy-looking-towards-the-Leitrim-bank-from-the-Longford-Bank-e1606699018677.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Lough-Nabelwy-looking-towards-the-Leitrim-bank-from-the-Longford-Bank-e1606699018677.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.celtichosting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Lough-Nabelwy-looking-towards-the-Leitrim-bank-from-the-Longford-Bank-e1606699018677.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4966","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=4966"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4966\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4967,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4966\/revisions\/4967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}