They hid behind the Penal Laws
\nThose in cloaks and veils dressed
\nThey hid behind history
\nHow the clergy were oppressed
\nThey used it as an excuse
\nWhen the Communists killed their priests in Spain…
\nAll the while they abused children
\nWithout a sense of shame.<\/p>\n
The taught us in the classrooms
\nWho from Famine a million died
\nHow the English were to blame – in part they were –
\nBut to us the teachers lied
\nWhen they said famine and neglect was behind us
\nAs the truth now evident a nation appals
\nWhat went on with state and societies silence
\nBehind those cold stone walls.<\/p>\n
We are no Communists today,
\nThese are not the Penals Laws
\nThey must answer for what they did
\nWith their clasped and greedy paws
\nYet they stand in false expression
\nOf remorse, for sorry be they aught
\nBut all they are sorry for is what they prayed for all these years
\nThat they would not get caught!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
They hid behind the Penal Laws Those in cloaks and veils dressed They hid behind history How the clergy were oppressed They used it as an excuse When the Communists killed their priests in Spain… All the while they abused children Without a sense of shame. The taught us in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[136,55],"tags":[139,138,137],"class_list":["post-73","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catholic-church-scandals","category-current-affairs-in-ireland","tag-catherine-corless","tag-church-scandals","tag-tuam-babies","column","twocol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-1b","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4070,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/when-the-potatoes-did-not-grow\/","url_meta":{"origin":73,"position":0},"title":"When the Potatoes Did Not Grow","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"17th October 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SBNNKFR_Qgk The dark tale of the Irish famine... republished on the site When the potatoes from the blight they did not grow And the leaves they wilted and turned black upon the stem And the growing tubers beneath the earth they shriveled Hunger awaited the people who depended on them.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Great Famine"","block_context":{"text":"Great Famine","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/ireland\/great-famine\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/SBNNKFR_Qgk\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":334,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/no-crusaders-they\/","url_meta":{"origin":73,"position":1},"title":"No Crusaders They","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"18th May 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"No crusaders they were, on holy war... To spread the word of God and the Good News, As such - but they laid down their lives, For a side that they did choose, For it preached the message of Christ, Never once mentioning His name, Of sharing with the poorest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Spanish Civil War"","block_context":{"text":"Spanish Civil War","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/irelands-wars\/spanish-civil-war-irelands-wars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"From country lanes and city streets, in defiance of a clergy who backed the Fascists, many young Irishmen took sides and fought for the Spanish Republic. 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":4998,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/no-water-at-saint-endas-holy-well\/","url_meta":{"origin":73,"position":2},"title":"No Water at Saint Enda’s Holy Well","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"1st August 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I stopped at St Enda's Holy Well in Bearna, to find no water there. As I sat down beside it, I pondered and wondered is it because of the way Ireland (and the churches mismanagement of scandals) has drifted from the pure faith of the people? St Enda stopped here,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Abortion"","block_context":{"text":"Abortion","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/abortion\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Entrance to St Eannas Holy Well","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/IMG_20210731_130434-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/IMG_20210731_130434-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/IMG_20210731_130434-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/IMG_20210731_130434-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/IMG_20210731_130434-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/IMG_20210731_130434-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4000,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/the-famine-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":73,"position":3},"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 "Art Inspired Poetry"","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":2039,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/torn-down-rebuilt-as-all-must-be\/","url_meta":{"origin":73,"position":4},"title":"Torn Down, Rebuilt, As All Must Be","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"8th July 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Longford's St. Mel's Cathedral burned down one Christmas morning. The rebuild, the challenge to attempt it, has many correlations to real life, indeed personally to me as a writer after my own disaster in Ballinamuck, of making character and succeeding against the odds in time. From dust to dust, what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ireland"","block_context":{"text":"Ireland","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/ireland\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"St. Mels Cathederal on fire. Image: www.LongfordParish.com","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.longfordparish.com\/images\/SystemImages\/Fire010.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.longfordparish.com\/images\/SystemImages\/Fire010.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.longfordparish.com\/images\/SystemImages\/Fire010.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.longfordparish.com\/images\/SystemImages\/Fire010.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4487,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/it-is-but-stone\/","url_meta":{"origin":73,"position":5},"title":"It Is But Stone","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"16th April 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"It is but stone - yet how it burns! It that stood when bombs from sky rained down: When heads to baskets fell before a Longford priest On the streets of that French town It looked on, clergy sided with the rich Who the poor turned on, casting God aside\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/faith\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Notre Dame Steeple Falls","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Notre-Dame-Steeple-Falls.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Notre-Dame-Steeple-Falls.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Notre-Dame-Steeple-Falls.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Notre-Dame-Steeple-Falls.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Notre-Dame-Steeple-Falls.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73","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=73"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73\/revisions\/74"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}