Northern Ireland, bringing history to life
Last weekend, while researching an article on those times across recorded history, that the River Bann was frozen over, I chanced upon two old poems related to the river, from the late 1800s. …
Continue Reading about 1882 Poetry – Beside the Silvery Bann
William Butler Yeats W.B. Yeats was born in Sandymount, County Dublin, in June 1865. He studied in Dublin and London. Yeats loved County Sligo and spent childhood holidays there. Indeed, …
Continue Reading about Yeats Poem – He Wishes For the Cloths of Heaven
In perusing old newspapers, one occasionally encounters some locally written poetry (which will often bring to life an era, and and the people of that time). Here's a delightful example of such a …
Continue Reading about Poem – Farewell Song, Robert Kidd, Portglenone, 1874
Irish Famine and the Migration to the New World The first mass migration of Irish people to the United States was caused by the famine. The failure in 1850 of Ireland's potato crop, wiped out by a …
Continue Reading about Poem – The Emigrant Ship – 1857, the sadness of leaving Ireland behind
Hamilton Dickson Martin, 1789-1855, was a teacher from Craigmore in Randalstown. In 1810, his 21st year, he left for the New World. But before leaving, he penned the following poem. There had …
Continue Reading about Poem – Farewell to Craigmore, Hamilton Dickson Martin, Randalstown
Here's a very old poem. It was written by a man from Raceview in Broughshane in late 1899. The humourous verses focus on the fun to be had at the local bar in the village. Ulster-Scots terminology …
Continue Reading about Poem – Auld Whiskey Bar at the Bridge
