A little bit of Culture...  Poetry from soc.culture.irish

Poetry of Ireland  (Irish poets writing in English)

Posted by K E Dennis
on:    13 Aug 2009

...I posted about the re-discovery of a rare Egan harp :

For a Rare Discarded Harp, a Chance to Sing Again
By COLIN MOYNIHAN
New York Times, August 9, 2009

[snips]

...Ms. Finch... discovered ...a brass plaque bearing the name of the instrument’s maker, John Egan, and an address on Dawson Road in Dublin.

...Egan , who is thought to have made instruments from the late 1700s until about 1840, is seen by many as the father of the modern Irish harp. In the 19th century his instruments were used by nationalist balladeers, like the poet Thomas Moore...

& perhaps like J. J. Callanan (1795-1829), whose poetry I hadn't really encountered before sidheseeker posted [Cusheen Loo] last Oct...

..which sent me off in search of yer man's life & works. Among the latter was this rather charming piece [see below for explanatory notes by Gregory Schirmer, who edited the new release of Callanan's poems & translations from the Irish.

The Outlaw of Loch Lene
J. J. Callanan

The Irish Poems: J. J. Callanan
Edited & introduced by Gregory A. Schirmer
Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe Ltd, 2005

    after the Irish poem -   Muna b’é an t-ól   (“If it were not the drinking”)