THE PATRIOT PRIEST OF ABBEYFEALE
| Category: Poetry Corner | 0 Comments
THE PATRIOT PRIEST OF ABBEYFEALE
by
RAYMOND FENNELLY
He arrived from the east like the Wise Men of old,
But the gifts that he brought were not incense or gold.
The Lord, in his wisdom, a plan did reveal,
And he sent Fr Casey to the banks of the Feale.
………….
A country in turmoil. The landlords held sway.
Eviction and exile and high rents to pay.
Fr Casey defied them. The people arose,
And he led them to victory against the Sassenach foes.
………….
His pastoral duties he did not neglect.
From the pulpit he preached with great moral effect.
The sick and the sinner, the old and the lame.
Priest, pauper and peasant, all treated the same.
…………
A familiar figure on a fiery white steed,
He called to each cottage to attend to each need.
Through highways and byways, a long while he spent
Spreading care and compassion wherever he went.
…………….
A love of the language, a true son of the Gael.
He promoted the Irish, never thinking to fail.
The Temperance Society he also extolled,
And the dangers of drink to excess he foretold.
………………
He started a brass band which played in The Square
Where the people assembled for market and fair.
It marched in procession. It led the parade.
And “The Girl That I Left” was its fond serenade.
……………..
The famed “Fr Casey’s” that still bears his name,
And that honours his memory with every game.
County champions again, oh how proud he must feel
Of the club that he founded in sweet Abbeyfeale!
……………
The years have now passed and the circle full round.
The Church of St Mary’s was knocked to the ground..
The Temperance Hall burned by the dread Black and Tans.
The brass band is silent and so are the fans.
……………..
They say everything changes and nothing remains,
Just the ghosts and the memories and on headstones the names.
The abbey is gone now, the walls crumbled down.
The railway has vanished. Nothing left in the town.
………………
In The Square stands a statue, proud bearing and tall
To honour this man still remembered by all.
His bones by the river rest under the sod;
But his soul is in heaven at the right hand of God.
Loading...