An Old Irish Poem

This is a poem that was in the Creggan Journal. It was written by Art Mac Cooey (1738-1773) a satirical poet who attacked the snobbery and respectability of the new Catholic middle-classes in the penal days copying the ways of the clergy who had little time for native cultural values.

I'm a pauper they say, a rascal, a stray,
And there's nothing but lies in my singing,
If I don't disappear, the parish will hear
The bells for my interdict ringing.
The curse of the friars and the vengeance of Rome
On the breed and the seed of the vipers,
Who threaten each day and never would pay
A penny to poets or pipers.


Copied (including the introduction) from the website of the Irish Pipe Band Association. This isn't a direct link. I've misplaced that and it's not readily discoverable. But it's in there somewhere. When I get more time, I'll look for it.