Mar

16

Though born in Dublin, the Irish poet William Butler Yeats is most often associated with the West of Ireland, and specifically Sligo. Many of his poems refer to local landscapes and places – Lissadell, Benbulben, and Innisfree (Lough Gill) are immediately recognisable to even those briefly passing.

This early poem “Red Hanrahan’s Song about Ireland” is an early one from a collection entitled “In the Seven Woods” published in 1903 :

“The old brown thorn-trees break in two high over Cummen strand,
Under a bitter black wind that blows from the left hand;
Our courage breaks like an old tree in a black wind and dies,
But we have hidden in our hearts the flame out of the eyes
Of Cathleen, the daughter of Houlihan.

The wind has bundled up the clouds high above Knocknarea,
And thrown the thunder on the stones for all that Maeve can say.
Angers that are like noisy clouds have set our hearts abeat;
But we have all bent low and low and kissed the quiet feet

Of Cathleen, the daughter of Houlihan.
The yellow pool has overflowed high up on Clooth-na-Bare,
For the wet winds are blowing out of the clinging air;
Like heavy flooded waters our bodies and our blood;
But purer than a tall candle before the Holy Rood
Is Cathleen, the daughter of Houlihan.”

Cathleen Ni Houlihan of course is the heroine that has been repeatedly used through Irish literature to represent poor old Ireland. In this poem, a few obvious places on the peninsula are referenced – but where is “Clooth-na-Bare”?


Comments

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Speak your mind

1 Comment so far

  1. b. on May 8, 2007 8:23 am

    isn’t clooth-na-bare the goddess of longevity?

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives

Links of Interest

Site Updates