Oh, list\u2019 to the lay of a poor Irish harper<\/p>\n
And scorn not the strain of his poor withered hands<\/p>\n
But remember those fingers they once could move sharper<\/p>\n
In raising the merry strains of his dear native land.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It was long before the shamrock, dear isle\u2019s lovely emblem<\/p>\n
Was crushed in its beauty \u2018neath the Saxon lion\u2019s paw<\/p>\n
And all the pretty colleens around me would gather<\/p>\n
Call me their loved one, the Bard of Armagh.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How I love to muse on the days of my boyhood<\/p>\n
Though four score and three years have flew by since then<\/p>\n
It\u2019s king\u2019s sweet reflection that every young joy<\/p>\n
For the merry-hearted boys make the best of old men.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At a fair or a wake, I would swing my shillelagh<\/p>\n
And trip through the dance with my brogues bound with straw<\/p>\n
And all the pretty colleens around me assembled<\/p>\n
Loved Bold Phelan Brady, the Bard of Armagh.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In truth I have wandered the wide world over<\/p>\n
Yet Ireland\u2019s my home and a dwelling for me<\/p>\n
And oh, let the turf that my old bones shall cover<\/p>\n
Be cut from the land that is trod by the free.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And when Sergeant Death in his cold arms embraces me<\/p>\n
And lulls me to sleep with sweet Erin go Bragh<\/p>\n
By the side of my Kathleen, my dear bride to place me<\/p>\n
Then forget Phelan Brady, the Bard of Armagh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Oh, list\u2019 to the lay of a poor Irish harper And scorn not the strain of his poor withered hands But remember those fingers they once could move sharper In raising the merry strains of his dear native land. … Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":0,"parent":24,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/irishdrama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/176"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/irishdrama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/irishdrama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/irishdrama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/irishdrama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/irishdrama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/176\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/irishdrama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/irishdrama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}