Stories Based On Fear Poem by Francis Duggan

As a boy i heard stories by then aged men
Of heroes of the ambushes at Headford and Tooreengariffe Glen
The rebels of Duhallow and Sliabh Luachra who took on the might of the invading foe
Going back in time to a century ago

Many of the young rebels did not live to die old
They died for Irish freedom as we are told
And today they are remembered in song, story and rhyme
By the nationalists, patriots and war historians of the present time

Was Ireland less free then than it is today
And having said this what constitutes freedom anyway
One most important freedom is freedom from fear
That no government to it's people can offer this seems obviously clear

For freedom from British rule from Ireland a minority stood to financially gain
The poverty of the majority post British rule does seem hard to explain
Doesn't matter who your government is if you are financially down
There are many poor people in every Irish village and city and town

Freedom for a woman at night after dark
To walk without fear of attack in a park
Since a basic freedom this should happen to be
One must ask the question is any Country free?

Stories of war are stories based on fear
Many of them as a boy i did hear
That life is our greatest gift is not a lie
Live until Life's Reaper decides your turn to die.