SEPTEMBER 1913

by William Butler Yeats

What need you, being come to sense,

But fumble in a greasy till

And add the ha’pence to the pence

And prayer to shivering prayer, until

You have dried the marrow from the bone;

For men were born to pray and save?,

Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone,

It’s with…

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/haass-talks-destined-to-end-in-fudge-as-they-continue-to-endorse-sectarianism-1.1516146

This article was first produced on TheWildGeese.com in April 2003.

Roy Beggs Jr. responds to our Derek Warfield interview.

Editor's Note: Before publishing our…

This article was first produced on TheWildGeese.com in April 2003.

WGT's Tom Madigan speaks with legendary folk singer Derek Warfield about his differences with Ulster Unionist politican Roy Beggs Jr., and Aer Lingus' decision in March to…

Sunday, September 8th is the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Sabine Pass. The occasion is being celebrated as "Dick Dowling Days."



Though a relatively small engagement, Sabine Pass represented perhaps the finest single day's work of any Irish unit, North or South, in the American Civil War. At Sabine Pass, on the Texas coast near the Louisiana…

Hey Gerry and everyone, this silly season the Che Mural story has gone viral, and I'm swamped on my Facebook page and Facebook Gallery page.

Two simple points:

1. I really doubt the 'American Tourist' story. It's the local council trying to divert attention from a dumb decision. The Che Festival has given a huge boost to Kilkee, and I'm proud to help a town I…

(The remains of Seamus Heaney at the Church of Sacred Heart Donnybrook. Photograph: Cyril Byrne)

And so it comes time....the funeral rites...the stories to be told...the memories to be shared...…

An article on the Ogham Alphabet appears in the current issue of the Hedgemaster, the newsletter of the Irish Cultural Society.  The article can be found on the Society's web site under Archives: irish-society.org. 

The September 11 meeting of the Irish Cultural Society will feature Colin Broderick speaking about his experiences growing up in The North during the Troubles.  He will read from his memoir That's That and take questions from…

Australian artist Christina Henri is visiting Ireland with her cloth bonnet memorial that remembers the lives of the women exiled to Australia as convicts 1788-1853. For many their crime was simply that of poverty. These women and their children are paid tribute in Christina's memorials, 'Roses from the Heart' and ' Cherished Babies'.

You are…

By Joe Doyle / Special to The Wild Geese

(Left: Seamen in hiring hall, National Maritime Union. New York City, New York - December 1941, from Archives of Irish America, Tamiment Library, New York…

The friends and members of The Wild Geese wish to extend our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Seamus Heaney.

Please add your signature and comments below.

Hulton Deutsch Roger Casement being led out of Pentonville Prison, where he would later be hanged.

DOMHNAIGH -- On September 1,…

Err....umm, well it was something I posted on The Irish Times commenting on one of 

the articles there.

I came late to his poems 

A lil young foundling I think I could and would be 

To such a wise and magical sage; such as he 

He whose poems spoke of the Irish truth; 

Of le Irish way of living then; 

Days of yore that…

My book project is moving along and the publisher has just sent me the cover (Donegal Castle, ancestral home of the O'Donnell clan). Its publication date is set for 1 October. At the moment I am proofreading the proofs to make sure there are no typos or other silly…

From the Frontier Of Writing

The tightness and the nilness round that space

when the car stops in the road, the troops inspect

its make and number and, as one bends his face

towards your window, you catch sight of more

on a hill beyond, eyeing with intent

down cradled guns that hold you under cover

and everything is pure interrogation

until a rifle motions and you move

with guarded unconcerned…

I identified strongly with this poem from the first time I heard it spoken. Much like the follower that was Seamus in his childhood, I followed behind my father and grandfather as they worked cattle and handled ranch duties ... mimicking, getting under foot and learning, growing, as I did.

And now ... in the silver times, my father is slowing, jabbering on, following my lead ... sometimes: 

Follower

My father worked with a…

This summer, driving through Connemara, I pulled into Sraith Salach, (Willow Stream) as Recess is now officially called, on the N59 Galway Clifden Road. All Gaeltacht villages throughout Ireland now only have the Irish name, though it caused such a furore in Dingle/ Daingean that they made an exception. The village consists of a shop, pub and marble shop. My friends were…