A Pint of Plain Is Your Only Man: Flann O’Brien’s “The Workman’s Friend” Explained
What “a pint of plain is your only man” means, where Flann O’Brien’s comic poem The Workman’s Friend comes from, and the Dublin plain porter behind the line.
Irish Poetry
Death of an Irishwoman by Michael Hartnett: Poem and Meaning
This week’s Irish poem comes in at number 86 in the top 100 Irish poems list. A very powerful poem in which Michael Hartnett says goodbye to his grandmother. In …
June by Francis Ledwidge: Poem and Meaning
Another week another great Irish poem. As we come into May I felt a poem about summer or at least the start of summer would be the best fitting. Summer …
Under Ben Bulben by W.B. Yeats: The Poem That Wrote His Own Epitaph
Another great top Irish poem! This week it is from the great W.B Yeats. It comes in at number 79 in the list of top 100 Irish poems. This poem …
Personal Helicon by Seamus Heaney: Meaning and Analysis
This weeks top Irish poem is number 40 titled Personal Helicon by Seamus Heaney. In this great poem, Seamus Heaney takes us back to a simpler time. A time when …
The Deserted Village by Oliver Goldsmith: Poem and Meaning
Welcome, this weeks poem ranks number 15 in the top 100 Irish poems list. It is a poem published in 1770 about the decline of a village and the emigration …
Easter, 1916 by W.B. Yeats: Meaning and Analysis
This week’s poem ranks number 6 in the list of top 100 Irish poems. And so it should. This poem responds to the Easter Uprising in Ireland, a rebellion that …
The Second Coming by W.B. Yeats: Meaning and Analysis
This weeks top Irish poem is “The Second Coming” it is one of Yeats’s most famous poems. It comes in at number 29 on my list of top 100 Irish …
Going Home to Mayo, Winter, 1949 by Paul Durcan: Poem and Meaning
Going home to Mayo a lovely poem about Paul Durcan travelling with his father as a child. I loved this poem, there’s something about the journeying that draws you in …
Mid-Term Break by Seamus Heaney: The Poem About His Little Brother’s Death
Welcome, this week I have number 3 from my list of top 100 Irish poems. A deep and meaningful Irish poem. The poem is about Heaney’s brother, who was killed …
The Stolen Child, By W. B. Yeats – Irish Poem And Meaning
Another week and another top Irish poem this poem is ranked number 10 in the top 100 Irish poems. The great W.B. Yeats is featured in yet another Irish poem. …
A Drover by Padraic Colum: Poem and Meaning
Another top Irish poem. This one is ranked number 82: A Drover, by Padraic Colum Padraic Colum appears quite regularly on the top 100 Irish poems. In fact, his Irish …
Cúl an Tí by Seán Ó Ríordáin: Meaning and Analysis
This Irish poem “Cúl an Tí” comes in at number 55 on my list of top 100 Irish poems. It was part of the Irish syllabus in Irish schools for …
The Fairies by William Allingham: “Up the Airy Mountain”
This weeks top Irish poem is number 69: The Fairies, by William Allingham This lovely poem is a look at the mystical and mistevious faries. While he published a great …
Cill Chais (Kilcash): The Irish Poem and Its Meaning
This week’s poem Cill Chais from my list of top 100 Irish poems is number 44. I am picking these poems every week at random and sharing the meaning behind …