Francis Ledwidge 1887-1917 was born in Slane, Co. Meath. He endured a childhood of dreadful hardship before leaving school at fourteen to work as a farm labourer, copper miner, road worker and union organiser. Throughout this time he was producing a vast body of lyric poetry.

Francis burst onto the literary scene just before the First World War with his volume of poems ‘Songs of the Fields’ (1915) giving him considerable status alongside Rupert Brooke and Tom Kettle as a war poet.

His literary mentor, Lord Dunsany, became his friend, adviser and patron. Most of his poetry focused on the myth, landscape and history of County Meath. About his style, he remarked “You know, I like simplicity and I love short words, short lines and short poems.”

Despite his new-found fame he was very unhappy after his rejection by his sweetheart Ellie Vaughey, daughter of a wealthy landowner from nearby Mornington. She married John O’Neill and after seven months she was about to give birth prematurely and was rushed to hospital. A Caesarean section was found necessary and she died during the operation. This inspired him to write an elegy for Ellie entitled ‘To One Dead’.

A blackbird singing
On a moss-upholstered stone,
Bluebells swinging
Shadows wildly blown,
A song in the wood,
A ship on the sea.
The song was for you
And the ship was for me.

A blackbird singing
I hear in my troubled mind,
Bluebells swinging
I see in a distant wind
But sorrow and silence
Are the wood’s threnody
The silence for you
And the sorrow for me.

The ship refers to his pending departure to the war and threnody is a song of lament. The moss-upholstered stone can be seen in the beautiful garden behind the cottage.

Although a devoted and active Irish Nationalist, he presented himself at Richmond Barracks Inchicore in 1914 and enlisted in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. In doing so he recognised that he and other soldiers would be denigrated for fighting in the British services, even though many had volunteered after being assured that it would bring Home Rule closer.

In 1915 he saw action at Gallipoli and in 1917 he was killed at the third battle of Ypres on 31st July. He is buried in Boesighe Cemetery in Belgium.

Ledwidge continues to fascinate successive generations and a very active and energetic Ledwidge Society is based in Inchicore. Poetry readings are held in the summer at the Memorial Gardens Islandbridge and there are plans to have a sculpture erected in cooperation with the Office of Public Works.

For more information on the life of Francis Ledwidge www.francisledwidge.com