Francis Ledwidge: A Life of the Poet

by Alice Curtayne

Although he died at twenty-nine, having lived to see only one volume of his poems in print, today, 100 years after his death, the life of the Irish poet Francis Ledwidge continues to fascinate successive generations of readers.Born in Slane, County Meath, in 1887, Ledwidge endured a childhood of ferocious hardship before leaving school at fourteen to work as a farm labourer, copper miner, road worker and union organiser. Throughout this time he produced an extraordinary body of exquisite lyric poetry.He burst onto the literary scene just before the First World War, in which, although a devoted and active Irish Nationalist, he was killed in Flanders in the uniform of the British Army. Widely viewed as a dichotomy, this led to decades of suspicion and neglect in some quarters before Alice Curtayne published her acclaimed biography of the poet in 1972, rightly restoring his reputation.Detailing the remarkable life, loves and tragic death of an exceptionally gifted Irish poet, this classic biography also offers a memorable insight into the life and politics of Ireland at the turn of the twentieth century.

Genres: Poetry

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

She was an Irish author and lecturer. She was born on 6 November 1898, 2 Upper Castle St, Tralee, Co. Kerry. She was a daughter of John Curtayne, carriage builder, or coach builder, of Castle St, Tralee, by his wife Bridget Mary O'Dwyer.

She was educated at St. Anne's, Southampton. Married Stephen Rynne with two sons and two daughters.

Her first book was St Catherine of Siena (1929). After Catherine of Siena she wrote several works of nationalist history including a life of Patrick Sarsfield (1934). The novel House of Cards (1940) concerns an Irish girl who marries an Italian industrialist.

Alice lectured extensively in the US including at least three trans-American tours.

She gave the Medora A. Feehan Lectures in Irish History and Literature at Anna Maria College, Paxton, Massachusetts, USA in the Spring semester of 1959. The College awarded her an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters and she was presented with the Key to Worcester City by Mayor James D. O'Brien.

In December 1954 The Irish Press sent her to Rome to write daily reports on the close of The Marian Year. She went to Rome again for the final session of the Second Vatican Council. She was commissioned to send weekly reports to the local newspapers The Carlow Nationalist and The Kerryman. She also sent a series of profiles of outstanding personages of this Vatican Council to The Universe and an article for Hibernia journal.

Reviews

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great deal of detail into the life of Ledwidge, interesting and informative.

[Nicola Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly researched and well written - this has to be your first read if you have any interest at all in Ireland's war poet Francis Ledwidge.

[Samuel Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

A closely researched biography of a fascinating and talented person, shedding light on the difficult political relationship between Ireland and its then rulers in Westminster. Ledwidge, as the book reveals, opposed fighting 'their' war at first and found himself in a minority in Ireland. Most thought that fighting Germany would prove Irelands deserving of Home Rule and unify the population. Ledwidge, from a working class background, would decide ultimately to fight and see action in brutal scenes at Gallipolli, Bulgaria and in France where he met an untimely end aged 29 years. In his brief and humble life he achieved some fame as a 'peasant poet' who sung the songs of the beauty of his native County Meath. As the letters he wrote home reveal, he could never get his home out of mind, nor his love for its people, particularly, a woman he had courted but lost. The book also covers Ledwidges unusual relationship with his literary patron and friend, the aristocrat Englishman, Lord Dunsany, whose regiment Ledwidge was to join. Dunsany, only a few years older, championed and helped publish Ledwidge's poetry and lead him in battle. Their friendship, though marred by the occupation of Ireland and hierarchy, found some common ground in literature. Lord Dunsany would find himself injured whilst opposing the Easter Rising in 1916. Ledwidge, on the other hand, on leave from the army, was stuck in England whilst his sympathies and even a desire to support lay with the rebels. The subsequent execution of many of the rebel leaders devastated Ledwidge who was friends with the literary men amongst them, including Thomas McDonagh, for who he wrote one of his finest poems for. Ledwidge's loyalties lay with Ireland and poetry and he dreamed of achieving greater things if he were allowed to survive the war. Unfortunately, this was not to be; a shell killed him and several others whilst they took a break from building roads between trenches on 31st July 1917.

[Mdaly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. The author has been meticulous in her research and has made me read his poems in a completely new light. At times she seems a bit distant from her subject. But Ledwidge's extraordinary life shines through and Alice Curtayne seems to have left no stone unturned.