Ireland Quotes

“The man tells Dad, I can see you’re a man that did his bit. Dad says, Och, I did my bit, and the man says, I did me bit, too, and what did it get me but one eye less and a pension that wouldn’t feed a canary. But Ireland is free, says Dad, and that’s a grand thing.”

“The master says it’s a glorious thing to die for the Faith and Dad says it’s a glorious thing to die for Ireland and I wonder if there’s anyone in the world who would like us to live.”

He fell as fall the mighty ones, / Nobly undaunted to the last, / And death has now united him / With Erin’s heroes of the past.

They had their way: they laid him low. / But Erin, list, his spirit may / Rise, like the Phoenix from the flames, / When breaks the dawning of the day, / The day that brings us Freedom’s reign. / And on that day may Erin well / Pledge in the cup she lifts to Joy / One grief—the memory of Parnell.

“What we want in this country, as I said to old Ward, is capital. The King’s coming here will mean an influx of money into this country. The citizens of Dublin will benefit by it. Look at all the factories down by the quays there, idle! Look at all the money there is in the country if we only worked the old industries, the mills, the ship-building yards and factories. It’s capital we want.”