Poetry for families for Saint Patrick's Day!

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At this time of year, on the Feast of Saint Patrick, we should be celebrating everything which is good about our country. My favourites are: our family ties, our incredible contribution to literature and our relish for and resilience to the absurdities of life.

Everyone will have their own memories and recollections of growing up in Ireland; running along a beach in the rain and returning home to the scent of the peat fire and warmth. For me, this poem encapsulates our childhood joys and dreams and the experiences I hope to pass on. For children or the diaspora who are living outside Ireland, read this for your parents or grandparents and share in their memories and love of our land.

Irish Children - An Dara-Leabhar (Gaelic League)

Happy Irish children,
In your home below,
Sheltered when the rain falls,
Safe from winter's snow.

Sing your songs of gladness
In your grand old speech,
Climb the sunny hillside,
Race along the beach.

Nowhere greener pastures,
Nowhere browner hills,
Nowhere bluer rivers,
Fed by sparking rills.

This is holy Ireland
Where our father trod,
This is the land where Patrick
Told them first of God.

Love her, do not leave her,
O'er the world to roam;
Ireland needs her children -
Work for her at home.

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

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