Verse

CONFESSIONS OF A TRIDENTINE BOY

Submitted on

Author: 
Sean Matgamna

CONFESSIONS OF A TRIDENTINE* BOY
(THE PRO-CATHEDRAL, ENNIS, 1950-53)

“It has been said: ‘Ireland is one huge monastery’.
In spite of exaggeration [this] correctly
emphasizes the fact that religion and the
supernatural are a vital element in Irish life.
At every twist and turn of the day a man is reminded
of the affairs of the soul. Thus he meets priests
and nuns, he passes by churches and convents;
he hears bells ringing for Mass, the Angelus, etc.
— The whole atmosphere is conducive to spirituality.”
— The Furrow,
Organ of Maynooth College,
Ireland’s leading seminary.
1954.

[Glossary, and notes
on the Pro-Cathedral, Ennis, c1950,
and on religion in Ennis then, below.]

"I am the people"

Submitted on

Author: 
Carl Sandburg

I am the people—the mob—the crowd
the mass.

Do you know that all the great work of
the world is done through me?

I am the workingman, the inventor, the

Respect for the dead

Submitted on

Author: 
Janine Booth

Janine Booth is a member of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union Executive and Workers’ Liberty. She has written and performed poetry for many years. She wrote this piece in response to the death of Margaret Thatcher.