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borderroamerhttps://fisherbelfast.wordpress.comThe Northern Standard, Monaghan. Reporter.

ORANGE HALL GRAFFITI

13/01/2013 by borderroamer

Corragh Orange Hall

THIS STORY HAS SINCE BEEN UPDATED. FOR THE LATEST VERSION SEE GRAFFITI PUBLISHED MONDAY 14th JANUARY.

Sectariansim in the Republic: Driving past a small orange hall in a rural part of County Monaghan near Tydavnet last night (Saturday) the car headlights revealed what can only be described as an act of sectarian abuse. Two words “F**K YOU” had been painted on the gable wall and came up very clearly in the car headlights. The orange hall is used infrequently but is one of several small ones remaining since partition. Members of the Orange Order from County Monaghan can often be seen parading in Northern Ireland and I have seen them on several occasions taking part in the main parade in Belfast.

Graffiti on wall (edited)

Going back to visit the scene in daylight hours, the offensive slogan was not as apparent, depending on what angle you looked at it. But the wall showed signs of previous acts of graffiti having been painted out. Sadly, this is not the first time the building has been targeted. Damage was done to the windows and front door in 2005, when a nearby hall in Glaslough was also attacked. At the time, the Orange Order called on President McAleese to condemn the attacks. Some time later, she visited Brakey orange hall near Bailieborough in County Cavan, which had been damaged and repaired. It is worth quoting from her speech on that occasion:

“It is possible to be both Irish and British, possible to be both Orange and Irish. We face into a landscape of new possibilities and understandings. The momentum of these times is, of course, difficult for some and so they lash out in intemperate acts of vandalism that have been visited on some Orange Halls, including Brakey. Such acts are a throw-back to another time, and we condemn them utterly and unequivocally”.

Across the nearby border in Northern Ireland several rural orange halls have been attacked and burned down. Attacks on the orange order and its members are often carried out in a tit-for-tat retaliation for something the other (green) side disapproves of. In this case, one explanation might be the ongoing row involving loyalists protesting over the restrictions placed on the flying of the union flag at Belfast City Hall. Leading politicians from North and South will meet in Belfast next Thursday to discuss the situation. In the meantime, I expect politicians of all shades in the Republic will be united in condemning another apparent attack on the minority community in Monaghan.

Corragh Orange Hall entrance

Hopefully action will be taken to remove the offensive and unwanted graffiti. It does not reflect the sentiment of the majority community locally. Tydavnet and other parts of Monaghan generally have very good relations between Catholics and Protestants. Members from both religions turn up at each other’s church services such as funerals or weddings. At a funeral Mass this morning local priest Fr Sean Clerkin spoke about value and respect for people. Sadly there are some people out there who do not think those sentiments are important. Sectarianism south of the border reared its ugly head a year after the Good Friday agreement was signed when Ian Paisley’s Free Presbyterian church at Coragarry, Drum in County Monaghan was targeted. Unfortunately it still seems to be with us.

IRISH HISTORY: ROBERT KEE RIP

12/01/2013 by borderroamer

Ireland: A History

The death of writer, journalist and historian Robert Kee who died on Friday January 11th aged 93 is an opportune moment to look back not just at the television series he presented on Irish history, but on other similar series. First I acknowledge the assistance of a very useful article by Cathal Brennan in The Irish Story about how important events in Irish history such as the Easter Rising in 1916 have been covered by Irish television, starting in the 1960s when Telefís Éireann had opened.

“1965 saw Telefís Éireann attempt their first history series entitled The Irish Battles. 1966 began with a new television series called The Course of Irish History edited by F.X. Martin and T.W. Moody. The series dealt with Irish history from prehistoric times up to the present and finished with a debate between the contributors involved” (Brennan).

F.X.Martin was an Augustinian priest who was Professor of Medieval History at UCD from 1962 to 1988. I remember seeing him occasionally in the corridors when I was a student at Earlsfort Terrace and Belfield. He was deeply involved in the campaign to preserve the Viking site at Wood Quay in Dublin. More details about him can be found in Charles Lysaght’s “Great Irish Lives: An Era in Obituaries” p.260. Certainly I remember the impact that the black-and-white televised series had. I only moved back to Dublin in 1967, with little or no knowledge of Irish history at the time, so I found the Martin/Moody book a very useful educational aid. T.W.Moody was a Quaker and was Professor of Modern History at Trinity College.

The eruption of the troubles in the North in 1969 and the introduction of censorship through Section 31 legislation meant a lack of any further series on history on RTÉ until the 1980s. However in 1969/70 I remember attending an hour-long programme about Northern Ireland recorded at the RTÉ studios at Donnybrook and presented by the late Liam Hourican, who was then Northern Editor for RTÉ News, based at Fanum House in Belfast.

Robert Kee’s thirteen-part series on Ireland: A Television History was broadcast in 1980/81 on RTÉ and BBC. It charted the history of the island from the time of Brian Boru up to the struggle for independence. It won a Jacob’s award for Kee, as the BBC obituary noted. Ruth Dudley Edwards has written an obituary for the Sunday Independent which sums up his achievements during a long and successful career.

In 1981 Thames Television produced a six-part documentary series The Troubles, which was shown on UTV. In more recent times there have been programmes on RTÉ such as Hidden History (2007) and in 2011 a five-part series presented by my former colleague in RTÉ News Belfast, Fergal Keane, entitled The Story of Ireland and broadcast on RTÉ and BBC. For those interested in pursuing the subject further, I notice that UCD is running an adult education course starting later this month on “Television and Irish History“. The tutor is David Ryan. I wonder what the tv historians will make of the current flags protest in Belfast and other parts of the North. Will the restriction placed on the flying of the union flag at Belfast City Hall in December become one of the most significant dates in Northern Ireland history since the signing of the Good Friday agreement?

S-U-F-T-U-M

11/01/2013 by borderroamer

Ravenhill

An explanation first of all of the title. Rugby fans will I hope recognise it immediately. It means Stand Up For The Ulster Men. The chant could be heard around a rain-soaked Ravenhill tonight as Ulster took on Glasgow Warriors in the Heineken Cup. Despite some protests over the union flag on some of the main roads in Belfast, it was almost a packed house (10,940) and there seemed to be only a handful of visitors from Scotland. The wet conditions were not conducive to good rugby. Ulster dominated the first half. Ruan Pienaar put over a penalty after seven minutes and the out half added the conversion after Nick Williams went over for a try in the nineteenth minute. A 10-0 lead for Ulster at the break. Glasgow came back in the first fifteen minutes of the second half with two penalties from out half Duncan Weir. Pienaar added another penalty on 62 minutes to give the home side a seven points cushion 13-6. The last quarter saw a determined Ulster side score two tries in the 73rd (Jared Payne) and 78th (Darren Cave) minutes. Neither was converted but coach Mark Anscombe will be satisfied with the result: victory to Ulster by 23-6. With one round of pool matches remaining, Ulster now sit top of Pool 4 on 19 points, five clear of Northampton Saints and six ahead of next weekend’s French opponents Castres. Although qualification for the Cup quarter-final is now secure, a good away result next week would give Ulster the advantage of a home draw in the knockout stages. Man of the match: Tom Court.

ULSTER 23 GLASGOW WARRIORS 6 (HT 10-0)

For the teams, see Ulster Rugby.

UNIONIST FORUM

10/01/2013 by borderroamer

Parliament Buildings

Up on the hill the unionist talking shop was put in place. The most representative unionist group in fifty years, according to the DUP leader and First Minister Peter Robinson. But what exactly is the purpose of this forum and will it do anything except allow the DUP to continue to make their mark as the leading representatives of unionism? There are no violent scenes in East Belfast tonight so perhaps the forum has made a start in trying to bring in some loyalist voices who think they have been left behind by the peace process. There were reports of some small protests this evening and according to reports on social media more demonstrations are planned tomorrow night. Businesses in Belfast reckon they have lost £15 million pounds as a result of the protests over the decision by Belfast City Council to fly the union flag on designated days only (a subject I touched on yesterday) although it was noticeable that on a Saturday just before Christmas the shoppers had taken over the streets again while the protestors walked around City Hall in what seemed to be a circle, except that it’s a rectangular shape! So there is a major challenge facing not just unionists but nationalists as well.

Sinn Féin pointed out that unionists talking to themselves would not solve the problem of mutual respect for people’s national identity and culture. John O’Dowd said there needed to be an open discussion on how people’s Irishness and Britishness could be respected and valued. He also made the point that unionism needed to face the reality that Northern Ireland has changed since the Good Friday agreement and will continue to change. The SDLP leader Alasdair McDonnell criticised the narrow nature of the talks, which are thought to have taken place in DUP offices at Stormont. Like Mr O’Dowd he stressed the principles of equality and parity of esteem and said he believed that if a new accommodation of identities is not at the heart of the conversations then the outcome would be lopsided or one sided and would not lead to a resolution of the issues of identity.

December protest: Bruce Street

Young loyalists on the streets however from working class areas like Sandy Row have a very different perspective. They see the move to restrict the flying of the union flag as an attack on their Britishness. They have not yet been convinced that Northern Ireland’s constitutional position within the United Kingdom has been secured for as long as the majority wishes it to remain so. They are strongly critical of the folks on the hill, especially the DUP. I will refrain from printing the exact reply I got when I asked a 14 year-old why he was protesting as minor trouble began at Sandy Row last month. No peace dividend for their areas. While the attacks on police cannot be justified, the reasons why young people some not even teenagers took to the streets deserve to be examined. A sense of excitement was one of the explanations put forward. This is a new generation who did not experience the troubles and many were born after the Belfast agreement was signed. There was no one spokesperson for the protestors who could explain exactly what they wanted. William Fraser from South Armagh (the same person who organised the Love Ulster protest in 2006 that led to violence) aligned himself to the cause and talked about bringing 150 protestors to Dublin.

I was sitting in suburban South Dublin when I noticed a tweet about the now on hold Dublin protest that suggested “maybe it’s planned as one of the Gathering events”. My immediate reaction was that comments like that did little to help the situation and I tweeted that it was necessary to address the underlying reasons sensitively. Another person asked why should anyone in the Republic care about helping the situation and claimed it had nothing to do with the Republic how often the union flag was flown outside City Hall. People like these seem to have completely ignored what exactly the Good Friday agreement was about and how it involved a referendum in the Republic (94.4% in favour) and changes to Articles 2 & 3 of the Constitution. Even more interesting was the result today of a redC/PaddyPower.com poll that questioned 1000 voters in the Republic earlier this week about the flags issue. It found that over half of those that expressed an opinion (57%) suggested they felt Belfast City Council was wrong to restrict the flying of the Union flag at Belfast City Hall “as Belfast is in the UK and the flag should be able to be flown there”. According to the figures, in total, just over one-third of Irish voters (35%) believed the Council was right to restrict the flying of the flag, “as it will be flown on specific occasions”. 47% thought they were wrong to restrict it. No view was expressed by 18%. In terms of party support, nealy half (48%) of Sinn Féin voters were in agreement that it was the right decision. An interesting number (44%) of SF voters said it was wrong and 8% answered “don’t know”.

As protestors make plans for a number of demonstrations across Northern Ireland this evening (Friday) at 6pm, it’s reported by RTÉ News and others that the DUP has taken the first step in what may become a legal challenge to Belfast City Council’s decision about the flying of the Union flag. DUP councillor John Hussey has submitted a formal complaint to the Council claiming the decision to end the practice of flying the Union flag throughout the year is in breach of equality provisions. In an alternative to the protests, a number of people are using social media to show their support for a sit-in at a pub or cafe or restaurant around the same time. Ulster rugby fans will also be focusing on tonight’s Heineken Cup match at Ravenhill against Glasgow Warriors (8pm).

FLAG ROW

09/01/2013 by borderroamer

Union Flag at City Hall

Now you see it…now you don’t. Today (the birthday of the Duchess of Cambridge) was one of the eighteen designated days in 2013 when the union flag is being flown at Belfast City Hall. The decision last month by the Council, taken democratically, to stop flying it 365 days of the year has unleashed a wave of protest by loyalists, many of them schoolchildren. It remains to be seen how long the protests will continue. The union flag will be hoisted again on January 20th, birthday of the Countess of Wessex. This was a position agreed by the SDLP and Sinn Féin and supported by the Alliance party, which seems to have borne much of the brunt from the protests. What struck me most was the age of the protestors. Some of them not even teenagers. Most of them were born after the troubles and the signing of the Good Friday agreement in 1998. But in terms of religion and politics the city they are living in is very different from that of thirty or forty years ago. The police service now finds itself stretched as it tries to deal with what remains a highly-charged atmosphere, which has put Belfast back in the international headlines for all the wrong reasons. The flag was taken down again at 6:45pm according to the News Letter and so far there have been none of the scenes of rioting that happened in the Newtownards Road area over the past week.

The DCMS lists the eighteen designated days for Northern Ireland as follows:

Dates for Hoisting Flags on UK Government Buildings in 2013

9 January	Birthday of The Duchess of Cambridge
20 January	Birthday of The Countess of Wessex
6 February	Her Majesty’s Accession
19 February	Birthday of The Duke of York

10 March	Birthday of The Earl of Wessex
11 March	Commonwealth Day (second Monday in March)
17 March	St. Patrick’s Day (Northern Ireland: union flag only should be flown)
21 April	Birthday of Her Majesty The Queen

9 May	Europe Day
2 June	Coronation Day
10 June	Birthday of The Duke of Edinburgh
15 June	Official Celebration of Her Majesty’s Birthday
21 June	Birthday of The Duke of Cambridge
17 July	Birthday of The Duchess of Cornwall
15 August	Birthday of The Princess Royal
10 November	Remembrance Day (second Sunday in November)
14 November	Birthday of The Prince of Wales
20 November	Her Majesty’s Wedding Day

WISHIE HACKETT

08/01/2013 by borderroamer

I passed the GAA Club (St Macartan’s) at Augher on the main Ballygawley to Clogher road twice this evening (Tuesday) so my thoughts were with the Hackett family and their friends and neighbours……

More details have emerged about the death last Friday evening of Wishie (Aloysius) Hackett, a leading member of St Macartan’s GAA Club, who was found dead at his home at Aghindarragh Road near Augher in County Tyrone. His 18 year-old son Sean, a former Tyrone minor footballer, has been remanded in custody charged with murdering his father, aged 60. Omagh magistrates court heard that Sean Hackett initially told police he had returned home to find his father’s body. He later said he had shot him, the court heard. He was granted compassionate bail to attend his father’s funeral at noon on Wednesday at St Macartan’s church, Springtown Road, Ballynagurragh near Augher.

St Macartan’s church, Augher © M.Fisher

The BBC reports that “Omagh Magistrate’s Court heard Mr Hackett was being treated for depression and had asked a friend to obtain a gun for him twice in the last two months. The compassionate bail for Wednesday’s funeral has been granted under strict conditions. Mr Hackett is not allowed access to a mobile phone or to the internet while travelling to and from the funeral and is only permitted to speak to two chaperones, including a solicitor and the (Tyrone) GAA manager Mickey Harte. He is not allowed to speak to immediate family members. Sean Hackett, who was arrested shortly after the incident, did not look at his family during the hearing. His mother, two brothers and sister were in court for the hearing along with a large number of supporters who waved to the teenager as he left the dock. His mother was distraught throughout and broke down fully when bail was refused and compassionate bail granted”.

The Public Prosecution Service appealed the decision to grant compassionate bail at the High Court. Refusing the appeal, a judge directed that the accused’s two chaperones must collect him from Hydebank Young Offender’s Centre near Belfast, take him to the requiem Mass in Augher and immediately afterwards return him to custody. Meanwhile, a 17-year-old youth arrested on Sunday in connection with Mr Hackett’s death has been released pending a report to the PPS.

REPORTER THREATENED

07/01/2013 by borderroamer

As the union flag protest continues in Belfast, there was another sinister turn when it was revealed that a local journalist who had been writing about the issue was sent a bullet in the post. The bullet was intercepted before it reached the journalist. At the same time a bullet was sent to a leading SDLP politician and the home of an SDLP Councillor in Belfast was attacked. Since the start of the protest, some Alliance party politicians have also been targeted in a similar manner, specifically the East Belfast MP Naomi Long and Jutsice Minister David Ford. Bullets were also sent to two Sinn Féin representatives. Such intimidatory actions need to be condemned without reservation as they are a threat to democracy.

In a statement, the National Union of Journalists expressed grave concern at confirmation that the Police Service of Northern Ireland had intercepted a letter containing a bullet addressed to a Belfast-based journalist. The journalist was advised by the PSNI that the letter containing a bullet was intercepted at the weekend. The letter was sent following the journalist’s reporting of Loyalist rioting in Belfast. NUJ President Barry McCall described the letter as the latest in a series of despicable attempts to intimidate journalists working in extremely difficult circumstances in Northern Ireland. He said the posting of a bullet to a newspaper, addressed to a named journalist, represented an attack on journalism and on democracy. “This incident must be seen in the context of recent attacks on journalists and elected public representatives and should be condemned by all who support the democratic process”, he added. NUJ General Secretary Michelle Stanistreet said the incident emphasised the need for vigilance on the part of journalists and media organisations in Northern Ireland. She said employers and journalists – staff and freelance, needed to be alert to the very real dangers which arose when covering conflict situations. She said the lack of respect for the rights of journalists to work unimpeded presented a particular challenge. The bullet sent in the post was clearly indeed to send a signal to the media. “Over many years journalists have stood firm in the face of intimidation and they continue to do so”, she said.

TYRONE TRAGEDY

06/01/2013 by borderroamer

Police cordon at Aghindarragh Road

TYRONE has seen many tragedies over the years, including ones that have affected the GAA community, both directly and indirectly. I have reported on some in the past. The latest tragic death in the county took place in the countryside around Augher, in the parish of Clogher, close to the border with County Monaghan. As the crow flies, it is only a few miles to the scene of another community in mourning, the parish of Donagh, where the body of 19 year-old Jason McGovern (Knocknagrave, Tydavnet) was returned home in a candlelit vigil last night. The links between the two areas, cut off when the main cross-border road was blocked, remain close. Jason’s father Seamus comes from the parish of Clogher. The two deaths however are unconnected.

The PSNI say they have begun a murder enquiry following the death of a 60 year-old man whose body was found at Aghindarragh Road near Augher on Friday evening. The location is not far from the historic site known as St Patrick’s chair and well in Altdaven wood. An 18 year-old man was arrested and is continuing to help police with their enquiries. The man who died was Wishie (Aloysius) Hackett. He worked as a joiner and was a prominent member of St Macartan’s GAA Club in Augher. Clogher parish priest Canon Lawrence Dawson said the family were numb and could not explain what had happened. He described Mr Hackett as a wonderful community man who had done much for the area and for local (Gaelic) football. A statement from the GAA club said the family had appealed for privacy at this time of mourning. A one minute’s silence in memory of Mr Hackett was held before Tyrone’s Dr McKenna Cup match against Derry at Healy Park in Omagh. Sinn Féin MP Michelle Gildernew said she expressed her sympathies to all concerned especially family and friends who were sadly dealing with this news. She said her thoughts and prayers were with those affected by the death. Ulster Unionist councillor Allan Rainey said the man’s death had shocked and numbed the community. “They just can’t really take it in that something of this nature could happen,” he added. A forensic team spent most of Saturday carrying out investigations beside a house and the surrounding area was cordoned off for several hours.

House at Aghindarragh Road

UPDATE: An 18 year-old man has been charged with the murder of Wishie Hackett. The teenager, who was detained on Friday, was charged after detectives were given until (tonight) Monday evening to charge or release him. He is due to appear before Omagh Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. The PSNI say a 17-year-old youth arrested in connection with the incident on Sunday has been released, pending a report to the Public Prosecution Service. It is believed three of Mr Hackett’s children were out of the country when news of his death emerged. They are travelling home for his funeral which is due to take place at St Macartan’s Church (the Forth chapel) at Ballynagurragh near Augher on Wednesday.

St Macartan’s church, Augher

OMAGH COURT

05/01/2013 by borderroamer

My journey yesterday was on the road to OMAGH in County Tyrone. This morning I was there for the court sitting……

Omagh Magistrates’ Court

Four men and a juvenile, all from Omagh, have appeared at the town’s magistrates’ court charged in connection with the death of Jason McGovern, a student from Tydavnet in County Monaghan. One of them was also charged with assaulting a friend of the teenager after a night out in Omagh last weekend. All faced a charge of unlawfully fighting causing an affray in the early hours of New Year’s Eve. Mr McGovern from Knocknagrave was attacked on two separate occasions. He was found dead at a friend’s house at Mullan village near Emyvale in County Monaghan on New Year’s Eve. Appearing at Omagh Magistrates Court were James O’Brien from Rylagh Road, Mark Donnelly from Greencastle Road, both 21, Aaron Davis, aged 19, from Beattie Villas and 18 year-old Aaron Bradley, from Waterworks Road in Omagh. Mr Bradley was also charged with assaulting a friend of Mr McGovern’s. The juvenile cannot be named for legal reasons. An investigating officer said the PSNI were objecting to bail because there were a large number of witnesses and it would take a few weeks to speak to them all. The district judge agreed to bail subject to a number of conditions. Suitable addresses for the defendants would have to be found at least three miles outside Omagh and approved by the PSNI. If this condition is met, they would be released on their own bail of £500 and two sureties of £750. They were ordered not to enter Omagh, except for court appearances, to be tagged, and to report to police three times a week. They also had a curfew imposed by the district judge and they are not allowed to enter licensed premises or to contact witnesses in the case.

UPDATE: A 21 year-old woman arrested in connection with the murder of Jason McGovern has been charged with perverting the course of justice and is due to appear at Omagh Magistrates Court on Tuesday 29th January.

FROM SLANE TO OMAGH

04/01/2013 by borderroamer

Plaque at Ledwidge Cottage

My journey this evening took me along the N2 heading Northwards from Dublin and past a sign indicating “Ledwidge Country” outside Slane in Co. Meath. It’s a good staring point as I mentioned it at the end of yesterday’s blog about Maev Conway-Piskorski. Her mother Margaret (Maighréad Uí Chonmhidhe) had given a lecture at the folk school in Bettystown in 1966 about the poet-soldier Francis Ledwidge. I quote from the book “Seanchas na Midhe” (eds. Ní Chonmhidhe Piskorska & Brück 2009):

“Margaret Conway remembered meeting the poet when she was a young girl in Colga, when he visited her brothers and “fellow poets” at their home. Her painting of the Maiden Tower at Mornington, reproduced on the cover of this booklet, depicts a scene romantically associated with Francis Ledwidge and with Ellie, the young woman who inspired many of his poems”

Meath Lore

Ledwidge was born in Slane in 1888 and after joining the Volunteers in 1913 enlisted in the British Army the following year in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. He was killed at the battle of Ypres (Ieper) in Flanders in July 1917.

In 1982 a museum was opened by the Omagh writer Benedict Kiely in the cottage where Ledwidge was born. There is a plaque in his memory attached to the front wall of the cottage. It states that it was erected by the Slane guild of Muintir na Tíre on September 9th 1962. A copy of the plaque is set in stone at the approach to the bridge over the River Boyne at Slane.

Ledwidge Cottage & Museum

Continuing past Slane I stopped in County Louth close to the county boundary with Monaghan, where the province of Ulster begins. I watched another Tyrone writer and journalist Martina Devlin being interviewed on the RTÉ Nationwide programme about her home town of Omagh. Talking about the education she received at Loreto primary school, she mentioned the influence of the local poet, novelist and writer, Alice Milligan, whose background is very interesting. From a Protestant family and educated at Methodist College, Belfast, she went on to become an Irish nationalist and a leading figure in the Irish literary revival, who mixed with people like Yeats, Casement and James Connolly. She edited a magazine produced in Belfast at the end of the 19thC, Shan Van Vocht and was an organiser for the Gaelic League. Born at Gortmore, outside Omagh in September 1866, she died in April 1953 and is buried in the Church of Ireland cemetery at Drumragh.

Grave of Alice Milligan

DJ O’Donoghue & George Sigerson
discussing memorial

While researching William Carleton in the UCD Archive I found a number of letters from Alice Milligan then living at University Road Belfast (near Queen’s University) written to the biographer DJ O’Donoghue (librarian at University College). One of the letters enclosed five poems (LA15/1149). She also agrees to contribute to the Mangan memorial fund, a project which O’Donoghue was working on with George Sigerson to provide a memorial to the poet at St Stephen’s Green. The photo of the two men chatting about the Mangan project is copyright © IVRLA (Irish Virtual Research Library and Archive) and is reproduced with the kind permission of Professor Helen Solterer from an original in UCD Library Special Collections. The bust of James Clarence Mangan can be seen if you are walking through St Stephen’s Green not far from Newman House and near the middle of the park.

James Clarence Mangan

UPDATE: Thanks to Charles Fitzgerald for having read the above and sending in the following quotation from a Ledwidge poem (Ceol Sidhe):

“And many a little whispering thing
Is calling the Shee.
The dewy bells of evening ring,
And all is melody”.

The poem and other works by Ledwidge can be found here.