Glenageenty Poem by Matt Mooney

On a road that might finish up
around a bend sooner or later;
yet it redeemed itself later on
in magnificent Mount Brandon
showing up on the skyline
as we were charmed to go on
along a wooded glen side
that towered above our heads
and sunk out of sight below
to the quietly flowing rivulet.

The heritage signpost heralded
a hideaway for an Easter rebel,
Captain Monteith of the Aud,
'on the run' from Banna Beach
after Casement's capture there
and I climbed down, a pilgrim,
to see the plaque to our patriot
in the autumn of the centenary.

A simple cabin down below
reached only by a spiral path,
was a safe house for him,
down by the Ravens' Waterfall;
the hazel and mountain ash
hid a hermit grey and bearded,
inside his forest family circle
of cow, donkey, dog and cat;
felt the peace of a place apart
and I stood to pay my tribute
to the old hermit and the hero
forging a link in our freedom
in Glenageenty woods for us
long before we were even born.