The household library of Ireland's poets, with full and choice selections from the Irish-American poets

Preface

As the compilation of Poetry contained in this book has been prepared in the belief that its merit will sufficiently commend it to the public, an extended introduction to it is not deemed necessary. A few words bearing upon the character and influence of Irish poetry, and especially Irish national poetry, by writers whose authority to speak upon the subject is beyond any doubt, may, however, be given. And first, the glowing phrases of Thomas Davis, in one of his mosteloquentand stirring national essays. " National poetry," he says, "is the very flowering of the soul, — the greatest evidence of its health, the greatest excellence of its beauty. Its melody is a balsam to the senses. It is the play-fellow of childhood, ripens into the companion of manhood, consoles age. It presents the most dramatic events, the largest characters, the most impressive scenes, and the deepest passions, in the language most familiar to us. It shows us magnified, ennobles our hearts, our intellect, our country and our countrymen, — binds us to the past by its condensed and gem-like history, to the future by examples and aspirations. It solaces us in travel, fires us in action, prompts our invention, sheds a grace beyond the power of luxury round our homes, is the recognized envoy of our minds among all mankind and to all time. In possessing the power and elements of a glorious nationality, we owned the sources of a national poetry. In the combination and joint development of the latter, we find a pledge and a help to that of the former."

One of the first creditable collections of Irish ballad-poetry v/as made by Charles Gavan Duffy, in 1845 — a period especially marked by the spirited literary revival attending the Young Ireland movement. Speaking of the growth of Irish verse in English words, in his preface to that useful and unpretentious book (" The Ballad Poetry of Ireland "), Mr. Duffy said: — " Our Anglo-Irish ballads, like our best Anglo-Irish families, grew to be national gradually, but instinctively and half consciously. Before the time of Swift, they were chiefly written by followers of the Court. They were, of course, satires on the country, or caricatures on the manners and language of the natives. Swift snatched these weapons out of the liands of the English faction and turned them against their own breasts. He rescued our popular poetry from fribbles on the one hand, and from ignorant strollers on the other ; and

gave it a vigor and concentration which it never has whollv lost That strange

tenacity of the Celtic race, which makes a description of their habits and propensities when Caesar was still a proconsul in Gaul, true of the Irish people of this day, has enabled them to infuse the ancient and hereditary spirit of the country into all that is genuine in our

P KEF ACE.

modern poetry. And even the language grew almost Irish. The soul of the countr) stammering its passionate grief and hatred in a strange tongue, loved still to utter them in its old idioms and cadences; uttering them, perhaps, wiih more piercing earnestness because of the impediment, and winning out of the vcr>' difficulty an unconscious grace and triumph. Some of the nameless, indefinite charms that win every reader of genuiii- Anglo-Irish song are traceable to this source."

Referring to Mr. Duffy s valuable little volume in his supplemental "Book of Irish Ballads which quickly followed it, one of Ireland's most successful poets, Denis Florence MacCartIn admirably says: — "To us there can scarcely be anjthing more inteiesting than these snatches and fragments of old songs and ballads, which are the chapters of a nation's history. Without these, how difficult would it be for the best disposed and the most patriotic amongst us to free our minds from the false impressions which the study (superficial as it was) of the history of our country, as told by those who were not her children or her friends, had made upon us. Instead of the rude kerns that anti-Irish historians represent our forefathers to have been, forever hovering with murderous intent round the fortresses of the Pale, we see them, in their own ballads, away in their green valleys and inaccessible mountains, as fathers, as brothers, as lovers and as husbands, leading the old patriarchal life . with their wives and children, while the air is musical with the melody of their harps and the lowing of their cattle ; we sec them hunting the red deer over the brown mountains, or spearing the salmon in the pleasant rivers, — or, borne on their swift horses, descending in many a gallant foray on the startled intruders of the Pale. What is of more importance, we look into the hearts and minds of these people, — we see what they love with such passion — what they hate with such intensity — what they revere with such sacred fidelity. We find they had love, they had hate, they had loyalty, they had religion, they had constancy, they had an undying devotion for the 'green hills of holy Ireland ;' and as such they are entitled to our respect, our attection and our imitation."

All the conditions pertaining to Irish poetr)- — its inspiration, form, and expression — have, however, undergone very great change since the period thus referred to. The songs and ballads of the bards belong to a distant age. when all things except human nature itself were very different from those of the present time. To-day, the poetry of the Irish race, like tlie race itself, is widely scattered. It may, indeed, be said to mingle with the literature of the world. Not only are the more popular Irish songs and ballads known in all civilized parts of the globe, but many of the most spirited poems relating to Ireland have been written thousands of miles distant from the sources of their inspiration. In the circumstances of its production, as well is in its most salient characteristics, the poetry identified with the Ireland of the present generation and the one preceding it, differs from tliat of every other country. All the poets of America, England, Scotland, France, Germany. Italy, Spain, have written at home, but it has not been so with their brethren of Ireland. Even the most gifted of Erin's minstrels sang some of his sweetest strains in a countr)' that was not his own. It is in America, however, which now contains in its great national family so many millions of the Celtic race, that the largest and worthiest external contributions to Irish poetical literature have been made. Almost as much pKX-try that may be called Irish has been written in America during the past thirty or forty years as in

PREFACE.

Ireland itself. And it may with truth be added that the intrinsic value of the verse thus produced does not sufifer by comparison with the poetry written in Ireland during the same period.

This book, then, is designed to present as complete and varied a collection of the best Irish and Irish- American poetry as can be oflfered in a single volume of convenient size. Much time and care have been given to its preparation, and a distinct purpose to make it worthy of the title selected for it has guided all the research and other labor it has demanded. As an actual cyclopedia of the poetry of Ireland and the Irish race, it takes a place that has not hitherto been occupied. The various collections of Irish verse which have from time to time appeared have been restricted in character and material, and have, consequently, failed to meet the demand for a complete work of this kind. An exception might, perhaps, be made in the case of the " Ballads of Ireland" compiled a generation ago by Edward Hayes ; but in addition to the circumstance that it is now practically out of print, that collection contained very few poems written later than 1850, or by other than distinctively native Irish authors. The ground covered by it was, therefore, necessarily limited, and to the present generation the book is but little known.

Much good poetry drifts hither and thither on the stream of fugitive verse, and, if not wholly lost, is likely to become forgotten. Many of the pieces here presented have been rescued from the oblivion that seemed awaiting them in this way. It is not improbable that some others of equal merit have escaped the Editor's search, but it may at least be said that the search has been made with an active desire to obtain all worthy poems of this class which it was possible to find. It has not proved practicable to examine every publication in which such poems may have appeared, but all available means to discover good fugitive pieces have been employed, with results which, it is hoped, will be accepted as showing an impartial purpose in performing this somewhat difficult part of the work.

In arranging the poems according to the theme or motive of each, rather than chronologically, or by inserting all the pieces by each author in consecutive order, the Editor has followed the plan of the well-known " Household Book of Poetr\'," and the Library of Poetry and Song," edited respectively by Charles A. Dana and William CuUen Bryant. This has been done because the plan appears to be the most systematic of the many whereon compilations of poetry have been prepared. It has involved much labor which could have been avoided by adopting any of the more usual methods ; but a desire for thoroughness in every respect has prevailed over all other considerations, and it is believed that the readers of the book will find the arrangement convenient and satisfactory. A perplexing difficulty has been to find for each poem a place exactly suited to its theme, and this, it must be confessed, has not been wholly overcome. A few pieces may possibly appear misplaced, but in extenuation of this fault it may be said that a gem is usually valued for itself, without special reference to its setting. If the divisions were ten times the number they are. some poems might still seem to be out of their proper place.

It will be observed that the part of the book occupied by humorous verse is not large. It could easily be extended by inserting pieces of the kind called "comic," whereof there is an offensive and quite unnecessary abundance. But this kind of verse is, in the main, merely vulgar, and wholly unfit for admittance into decent company. Much of it that

PREFACE.

passes as Irish is not Irish at all. but was written by persons totally incajKiblc of giving ir. song or otherwise, the peculiar and elusive lights and shades of true Irish humor. Some, however, is due to writers of Irish birth, who could easily have found better use for such talent as they possessed than to exercise it for the .gratification of depraved tastes, whether among their own people or others. .Ml verse of this class is rigorously excluded from the present compilation, as it should be from every book having the slightest claim to a respectable character

As a few of the writers introduced are but remotely Irish, the propriety of introducing them at all may possibly be questioned. It should, therefore, be said that no broader claim than the circumstances warrant is made in the case of any of these. They are not presented as Irish, but simply as poets who are partly, at least, of Irish extraction. It would be obviously absurd, for example, to put the name of Mrs. Whitman or Dr. English on a list of Irish poets, the blood of each having been well mixed on American soil. A kindred statement may be made with reference to a few who were born in England. Any reader who is curious to know why such writers are included in the book will find the reason set forth in the Biographical Notes. The lines of Irish connection are there plainly and carefully drawn.

No effort has been spared to make the Biographical Notes full and accurate in all essential respects. They are compiled from the results of diligent inquiry and research, and can be commended as strictly authentic. It is not supposed that all readers of the poems will consult them, but it is believed that those who do so will thereby enhance their appreciation of the book as a whole. In some cases the notes have a direct bearing on the poems, and the author and his verses should be brought together to assure a proper understanding of his motive. So far as the Editor is aware, the plan of giving what is substantially a dictionary of authors, in a special department, has not hitherto been used in a book of this character.

The work now completed was undertaken solely from a conviction that it needed to be done. Several schemes similar in purpose to the one it represenu have been projected from time to time, but the work itself has remained unperformed. In the form in which it now stands, it represents several years of labor, pursued with a fixed purjxjse to reach a worthy end. It doubtless contains some defects, but not many books of the class to which it belongs are perfect in the eyes of all who read them. All that can be desired is, that it will be judged with fairness, and received with such favor as it may deserve. It is, at all events, the first complete compilation of good Irish and Irish-American poetrj' that has been placed before the public.

In the course of its preparation much valuable aid has been rendered by various friendly hands, both in Ireland and throughout the United States. For all such assistance, which has in some instances amounted to cooperation, and for many courtesies kindly extended by publishers, the Editor's most cordial thanks are due. An undertaking in which much pleasure has lightened labor is now closed, but its results, it is hoped, will endure

D. C

New York, 1887

O Poet Prophets ! God hath sent ye forth With lips made consecrate by altar fire, To guide the Future, not to tread the Past ; To chant in glorious music Man's great Hymn, The watchword of Humanity — Advance ! Advance in Wisdom, Nobleness and Truth, High aims, high purposes and self-control, Which is self-reverence, knowing we shall stand With crowned angels before God's great throne. The Poet nerves the arm to do great deeds, Inspires great thoughts, flings o'er the tears of life The rainbow-arch, to save us from despair ; Quickens the stagnant energies to act. Bears the advancing banner of the age, Full in the van of all Humanity ; And with a strength God-given, rolls the stone. As angels may, from off the sepulchre Where souls lie bound, bidding them rise and live.

ALEXANDER, CECIL FRANCES.

The Little Sister's Song i35

The Lonely Flower 31S

The Burial of Moses 709

Sonnets on Memory 240

Death of an Arctic Hero 644

Below and Above 684

Allingham, William.

Oh ! Were my Love 43

Lovely Mary Donnelly 55

The Milkmaid 63

The Pilot's Pretty Daughter 90

Lullaby , I33

The Bright Little Girl 135

To the Nightingales 1 5°

The Winding Banks of Erne 176

Abbey Assaroe i8g

The Touchstone 214

The Ruined Chapel 263

The Maids of Elfinmere 335

The Fairy Shoemaker. . : 351

• Lady Alice 574

The Abbot of Innisfallen 713

Anster, John.

Born in Ireland, 1793 ; died, iS'^7.

Oh ! If as .•Xrabs Fancy So

The I-airy Child 138

The Everlasting Rose 156

Walpurgis Night 376

Dirge Song 613

.\RMSTRONG, Edmund John.

Suspiria iy2

To Wicklow iiji

.\ Dedication 319

Among the Slain 578

Mary of Clorah 615

Armstrong, George Francis.

A Man's Devotion 113

Wicklow 190

In Meditation 316

The Singer 329

The Satyr 375

The Wreck oft M izcn Head 500

The Glen of the Horse 501

Work Song 508

INDEX OF AUTHOK!

Slain in the Forefront 6oi

The Christ 662

A Psalm of Hope 685

Ashe, Isaac.

A phyncian, born in Ireland.

When my I.ove is Failing 682

Banim, John.

.Villcen 68

Barry, Michakl Joseph.

Bom in Ireland ; wrote in 48 period.

Bide Your Time 416

The Place to Die 451

The Wexford Massacre O18

Beamish, Fi.<irenck.

Sleep on, Mavourneen 71

Berkeley, George (Bisiioh).

The Course of Empire 215

Blacker, William.

Born in Armagh, Ire., 1775; died in 1855.

Oliver's Advice 471

The Nativity 678

Blake, Mary E.

Born in Ireland ;— Boston, .M.->m.

Away From Home 118

The I.ittle Sailor Kiss 133

A Little .Mothers Lesson 140

Morning 163

Twilight 164

Compensations 232

Singing and Sighing 329

Our Record 425

Going and Coming 496

A Dead Summer 566

The Birthnight 626

BoTTA, Anne Charlotti; Lvnch.

Bom in Vermont ;— New ^'ork.

By the Sea 166

Books 212

Accordance 219

Sweetness 219

Wasted Fountains 224

Paul at Athens 7' i

UouciCAULT. Dion.

Born in Dublin, 1822.

The Wearing of the Green 432

Hovi.E, Esmeralda.

Born near Washington, D.C.

Unison 680

Boyle, John.

Bom in Ireland, about 1832 ; died, i£S5.

Object Lessons for Eithna 135

The Voice of Spring 144

The Robin Redbreast 148

My Argosy 223

San Salvador 273

MinnieBeck 315

To the Lyre 331

To Ireland 389

I Address to a Patriot 444

! Arthur ^f cCoy 454

'' The Knight's Remorse 574

I Indications 692

I Brenan, Joseph.

I Bora in Ireland, 1838; died, 1857.

I Not for Rank or Gold 48

I Come to me. Dearest 106

I Florence, my Child 128

Blindness 213

A Prison Dream 236

Oblivion 238

An Exile's Dream 411

Bronte, Charlotte.

Bom in England, 1816 ; died, 1855.

Preference S5

Life 221

Evening Solace 293

Bronte, Emily.

Born in England, 1818 ; died. 1848.

A Day Dream 321

To Imagination 372

Brooke, R. S. (Rev.).

An Episcopal Rector, t}orn in Ireland. Light and Shade

Brouuham, John.

Bom in Ireland, 1810 ; died. 1S80.

Polly O'Connor ' 1

My ain Donald 59

The Hymn of Princes 250

Peace and War 251

The Sword of Fontenoy j'"'

Brown, Frances.

Absent Children 130

If That Were True 212

The Winters 230

The Pleasant Days of Old 237

What Hath Time Taken ? 245

Songs of Our Land 401

Losses %i*>

The Four Travellers 597

INDEX OF AUTHORS.

Browx, John Patrick.

Born in Philadelphia, Pa., 1839.

The Wedding— a Duet

Givet

The Color Bearer

Appears in *' Lyra Hibernica Sacra " as Curate of St. Peter's, Dublin.

Evensong

King Edwin

Butler, Thom.-\s Ambrose (Rev.).

Horn in Ireland, 1837:— St. Louis, Mo.

The Lost Home

Butler, William Archer (Ri:v.).

On a Child at Play

Song of the Streams

The Patriarchal Time

Callanan, Helena.

Born in Ireland, about 1864.

Withered Flowers

Saint Agnes

Callanan, J.\mes Joseph.

Govigane Barra

Sweet Avondu

Lines to Erin

Dirge for O'SuUivan ISeare

Pure is the Dewy Gem

Mary Magdalen

Campion, John T.

A physician, born in Ireland.

Charity

Good Morning

Carleton, William.

My Mountain Glens

The Churchyard Bride

Carpenter, Henry B. (Rev.).

Born in Ireland, 1840 -Boston, Mass.

Vive Valeque

Beyond the Snow

Carroll Malone.

The Orangeman's wife

Casey, John Keegan.

Song of Golden Headed Niamh

Donal Kenny

Christmas Memories

The Missioner

Our Noble Irish Girls

How Have Ye Labored? 414

j The Rosemary Crown : . 420

172 Ihe Rising of the Moon 458

^^^ 1 Cassidy, P.\trick Sarsfield.

■♦'" Born in Ireland;-New York.

The Sovereign People 510

Robert Emmet 633

Charlotte Elizabeth.

Authoress of the " Siege of Derry," etc.

The Maiden City 474

Cherry, Andrew.

The Bay of Biscay, O ! 172

The Green Little Shamrock 302

Clarke, Joseph L C.

Born in Ireland ;— New York.

A Decade of Love 44

Speculum Vita; 250

Waiting for Washington 4SS

Cleary, T. S.

Born in Ireland.

Sledge and Pen. . . -. 517

CoLLiER, Thomas Stephens.

Born in New York, J842.

Sun Glow 161

Recompense 23a

Three Sonnets 240

What is the Gain ? 24S

Sacrilege 256

Sun Burst 421

Collins, William.

Born in Ireland ;-New York.

Our Own Land 39g

The Ride to Arboe 455

Moylan at Monmouth 489

Connolly, Daniel.

Born in Ireland ; — New York.

Trout Fishing 174

Memories of the Erne 17S

Compensation 231

Jasper Dean 266

The Eyes of an Irish Girl 314

Erina Regina 386

A Lay Sermon 412

The Leap for Life 460

Evicted 5S8

One Summer N'iifht 601

Mitchel — 1S75 62y

Connolly, Olivia Knight.

Born in Ireland ;— Australia.

Where are the Knights .' 305

Sympathies 316 lO

INDEX OF AUTHORS.

PACE

The Story of a Star 298

Seed Time and Harvest 420

The Green Klag 431

St. John's live . . 715

CoNWAv, Katherinf, Eleanor.

Born 111 Rochcsief. N. V., 1853.

Remembered 77

A Song in May Time 146

Blooming out of Time 1 56

In a Strange Land 220

Out of the Shadow of Deatli 389

Another June 564

A Memory 565

My I-'ather's House 683

Lotus and Lily 688

Cowan, Samiel K.

Hccalined 262

The Bnricd Bells 264

The Voice of the Wind 320

Easter Voices 679

Harvest Time 6(/)

Cowan, William (Rev.).

-An Episcopal clergyman. Diocese of Dcrry.

Christmas (177

Crawi-ord.Jilia.

r.ornin Ireland.

We Parted in Silence 77

Dublin Hay 5S4

Crillv, Damki..

Born in Ireland.

The Men of To-day 425

Toast-Song 440

Croker, Thomas Crofton.

Cormac and .Mary 348

Croly, George (Rev.).

Hymn of the Universe 143

The Alhambra 197

Messolonghi's Ruins igS

I'ericles and Aspasia 257

The Atlantic 33S

Leonidas 486

A Dirge 660

Born in Ireland, 1837 ;— Buffalo, N.V.

The Wanderer's Home 120

After Ten Years 299

Marquette 646

Sursuni Corda 665

The I'wo-fold May 689

The Unfound 699

Cunningham, John.

Bom in Oublin, 1739 ; died 1773.

If I Were Nol Too Young '. fi<.

.\ I'astoral S_|

Born in Ireland.

The Wearing of the Green 4;-

CuRRAN, John Philpot.

Cushia Ma-Chree 395

The Monks of the Screw 539

Clsack, Mary F.

Widely known as Ihe " Nun of Kenmare."

In te Christe (.61

Darlev, George.

Love Song 45

Steeds of the Ocean i 7<j

The Fairy Cavalcade 349

Davis, Eugene.

Our Vow 415

Queries 442

Davis, Francis.

Nanny (j..

My Kidia dhu Asthorc (.5

.My Betrothed 7-

.\ Visit of the Beautiful 147

Caste and Creed . 210

Willie's .Mother 589

Kathleen Ban Adair 619

Davis. Thomas.

The Banks of the Lee 47

Fanny Power 5 S

Maire Bhan .\stor 65

The Welcome 88

O, the M,->rriage 105

My Grave 403

The Penal Days 421

Our Own .Vgain 426

The Green .\bove the Red 430

The Geraldines 433

O'Brien of .■\rra 452

Fontenoy 467

The Sack of Baltimore 5S0

Lament for Owen Roe O'Neill 647

DERMonv, Thomas.

Bom in Ireland, 1775; died, i8oz.

The Pleasures of Poesy 323

On Songs 326

Sons of Hapless Erin 395

INDEX OF AUTHORS.

Desmond, Daniel.

Born in Ireland.

The Toilers 519

De Vere, Aubrey (.Sir).

Glengariff 170

Sad and Sweet 2og

Columbus 275

Early Friendship 297

Sing the Old Song 325

De Vere, Aubrey Thomas.

Florence Maccarthy's Farewell 44

Implicit Faith 214

Queen Margaret's Feasting 252

The Old Land 399

The Intercession 403

The Three Woes 417

The -Music of the Future 418

The Dirge of Athunree 437

A Ballad of Athlone 451

The Faithful Norman 454

Good Hearted 603

Grattan 624

Stella iMatutina 674

De Vere, Mary Ainge

Born in Brooklyn, N. Y.

The False Oracle 75

A Marriage 75

A Quiet House 121

The Spinner 220

A Poor Mother 243

The Wind-swept Wheat 26S

De Vere, Stephen (Sir).

Of the family of Aubrey De Vere.

To Maecenas 226

Intactis Opulentior 227

Doheny, Michael.

Born in Ireland; active in '48 moveinenl ; died in America.

Donnelly, Eleanor C.

Born in Philadelphia, Pa.

The Poet's Little Rival 131

The -Sleeper's sail 356

The Fate of the Fairy Swan 36.S

St. Columba and the Stork 405

Missing 603

The Heavenly Fatherland 687

Dovvden, Edward.

A Dream 46

In the Garden 161

Oasis 250

Wise Passiveness 2gl

The Singer's Plea 2gi

The Inner Life 694

DovvLiNii, IJaktholomew.

Born in Limsrick, Ireland.

The Brigade at Foutenoy 46S

DowLiNo, Jeremiah ].

A Physician, born in Tipperary.

The Claddagh Boatman 300

Dowi.iNO, Richard.

Horn in Ireland, 1846.

Good-Bye 78

The Bohemian's Ballad 330

Downing, Ellen.

Born in Ireland about 1830.

Talk by the Blackwater 69

Conal and Eva 73

Welcome Home to You 88

Were I But His Own Wife 107

The Old Castle 189

Drennan, William.

Charity to Man 295

Erin 391

The Wake of William Orr 645

Drew, Thomas (Rev).

Born in Limerick, 1800; died, 1S57.

Life's Last Hour 670

Drummond, William Hamilton.

Born in Ireland, 1778 ; died, 1S65.

The Bed of Ocean 169

Old Age 673

Who is the Foe 674

Dufferin, Helen Selina (Lady).

Born in 1807 ; died in 1867.

Katey's Letter 53

Sweet Kilkenny Town 54

The Irish Emigrant's Lament 590

DuFi-v, Charles Gavan (Sik).

Sweet Sybil 56

O'Donnell and the Fair Fitzgerald 94

The Patriot's Bride 1 1 1

Song of Innishowen 194

A Lay Sermon 215

The Voice of Labor 520

Egan, Maurice Francis.

Born in Philadelphia, Pa., 1852.

The Anxious Lover 40

Cyclops to Galatea 86

INDEX OF AUTHORS.

Dangerous Frankness I13

When Mothers Watch 131

The Hitter Sweet 242

Maurice de Guerin 255

Theocritus 290

Kra Angelico 256

The String of the Rosary 672

Emmet, Rohkht.

Bom in 1778 ; died in i8oj.

Arbor Hill ig2

Enoi.ish, Thomas Di'nn.

Bom in Philadelphia, Pa., 1819.

Lullaby 134

Song of Fire 202

Ben Holt 298

Akeratos 256

The Fight at Lexington 490

The Charge by the Ford 497

Fahy, Francis A.

Bom in Ireland.

The Flower of the Flock 62

The Ould Plaid Shawl 527

Falconkr, Edmund.

Bom in Ireland ; dramatist.

Killarney 187

Farkeli., Joseph (Rev.).

Judith 242

What the Sea Said 2O3

Faussett, Alessie Bond.

Bora in County Tyrone. Ireland.

The Death of St. Columba 649

Ferguson, Samiel (Sir).

Bom in Ireland, 1810; died, 1E86.

My Owen Hawn Con 64

The Little Maiden 134

The Liffey I75

Three Thoughts .' 20S

The F'airy Well of Lagnanay 348

The Naming of CuchuUin 475