<h2>Wealth and Happiness</h2>
<h2>Author: M C Nolan</h2>
Theme: Religion
Location: Carlow south
MCN explores what might lead to true happiness
A Civil War Lament
Author: Tom Williams, Taghmon
The meadow grass has not been mown and the headland’s overgrown
And from the woods of Gurteencrin the pheasant cock has lately flown.
The soft red apples lie despoiled, on my mother’s orchard ground,
And Autumn’s sun, its short day done, casts shadows all around.
The old folk tend the pastures now for the young men have all gone
To fight with grief for their belief, ‘twas a bitter feud and long;
My brother, with his Thompson gun, faced me across the moor
And against God’s will, I shot to kill, my sorrow will endure.
The crossroads where the dancing feet sent echoes down the lane
Are empty now, and many a brow is creased with grief and pain.
Oh, who will cross the wide divide, and take my brother’s hand?
Oh, who was with him when he died near Slaney’s shifting sand?
How can we heal the broken rifts that separate us now,
For friend fought friend until the end, can we smile again, and how
Can hate and fear of yesteryear diminish in our minds?
Oh, the Civil War was a cruel war to break the ties that bind.
But the ash tree lives, and its seedlings give a hope to boy and man,
And the GAA once more held sway in the fields where the hurlers ran;
And the verdant spring a hope did bring, and the fields were tilled again,
And the carefree sounds from the sporting grounds came echoing down the lane.
The song was passed from the Wexford singer, Paddy Berry, to Tony Malone
A Friend on High
Author: M.C. Nolan
recitation by M.C. Nolan, August 1929
Theme: Religious poem from the early 20th century, written by M.C.N., Michael Conlaith Nolan, of Borris.
A New Dawn
Author: John Candy
John celebrates the Good Friday Agreement with its potential for a new and happy state of living for all people in Ireland.
A Short Cycle
Author: Roman O Deaghadh
Roman recalls the 'joy' of a cycling trip around the heart of County Carlow.
A Thousand Leagues From Carlow town
Author: John Locke, Callan
Theme: Pride in place, nostalgia
Location: Carlow town
A poem about an emigrant girl, fallen on hard times in New York
A Visit to the Singers’ Club,
Author: Mikey Byrne
Theme: Local event and characters
Location: Carlow town
Mikey visited the Singers' Club in Carlow and wrote this afterwards
Mikey Byrne Collection
From Carlow Streams
Richard Breen
A Walk Along the Border
Author: Martin Power
Those who know the area will appreciate the beauty and tranquility that Martin describes in this poem.
Address to Clonmore
Author: J. McCall
Theme: pride in place
John McCall was father of the more famous P.J. He wrote this in praise of the ancient monastic settlement of Clonmore and its hinterland.
All Lives Matter
Author: M. Power
Martin reflects on the sad reality of so many lives in America: where are the ideals of the USA gone to?