John Keegan Casey A Young Ireland Poet Poem by Francis Duggan

Born in 1845 at Castletown Geoghegan Co Westmeath in 1870 after serving time in Mountjoy jail he died
Yet the mantle of greatness of him cannot be denied
Severe beatings from his British jailers the reason he died so young
But his most famous song 'The Rising Of The Moon' will forever be sung.

One of the famous Young Irelanders patriotic and brave to the end
To the cause of poor old Ireland his poetic voice he did lend
He wrote under the pen name of 'Leo' John Keegan Casey was his name
And some famous songs and lovely poems live to his enduring fame.

The Rising Of The Moon, Donal Kenny and Maire My Girl have made him one worthy of note
This legendary Young Irelander was quite a famous poet
The huge crowd at his funeral was proof he was held in high esteem
Of an Ireland free of British rule he was one who dared to dream.

Due to uncalled for and brutal beatings he died at a young age
Which at that time in Ireland did cause a public outrage
Yet those who committed such an atrocity were not punished for their crime
But the poems and songs of John Keegan Casey have survived the test of time.