FEAST OF ST. BRIGID – A POEM BY PADDY Mc CORMACK

February 1st

Oh dear St. Brigid hear our call,

And guard our native isle,

In olden days you spread the light

Of love o’er the soil,

Your mission full of ardent love,

With pleadings did not fail,

And ever shall thy memory live,

As Mary of the Gael.

 

How oft you prayed with fervent hope

To save our native land,

The fire of Faith you kindled here,

By a heavenly breeze was fanned,

Thy earthly life our guiding star,

A beacon of light to all

Fond patroness of Erin’s Isle,

You heard the plaintive call.

 

Tho’ years have flown O Glorious Saint,

Since you trod the Emerald Isle,

The hills and pleasant valleys,

Seem a calling all the while.

Come dwell again O Brigid true.

Amidst the scenes so fair,

Where first thy virtues flourished

From thy Convent at Kildare.

 

The Irish race O faithful Queen,

Shall ever breathe thy name,

With Patrick’s aid Apostle true,

Our land shall rise to fame.

And when all earthly things shall end,

We pray our trials are o’er,

To meet our Glorious Irish Saint,

Yes meet to part no more.

 

Patrick McCormack (1941)

 

Obituary for Paddy McCormack, published 23 November 1974

One of Kildare’s most liked and respected figures, Mr. Paddy McCormack of Gaelic House, Kildare, died on Thursday last. Aged 74, he was native of Lackaghmore and had been associated with the commercial life of Kildare for most of his adult years.

He was an extremely popular figure, keenly interested in parochial affairs; he was also an active supporter of the Gaelic League and the G.A.A., but the greatest loves of his life were archaeology, the study of history and the writing of verse and songs. In the latter regard he was particularly prominent; his poems and songs were published regularly and his songs, generally about his native County Kildare, were sung as far afield as the United States and Canada, and local baritone John Breen invariably included them in his repertoire when on tour.

His booklets about historical events in Kildare, including the Gibbet Rath, Lackagh and Monasterevan memorials, were widely read and particularly his life of St. Brigid and history of other local places of interest. In some of his writings he collaborated with Very Rev. P. Mac Suibhne, retired Parish Priest of Kildare.

He is survived by his wife, Annie; sons, Oliver and Vincent; daughters, Mrs. Theresa Moran, Mrs. Ann Ganguly, Misses Eta and Noeleen McCormack; brothers, Edward and James; sisters, Mrs. Margaret Purcell, Mrs. Kathleen Kelly; sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and other relatives. Internment took place on Saturday at the family burial ground, Lackaghmore.