John Locke (poet)
Encyclopedia
John Locke was an Irish
writer and Fenian
activist, exiled to the United States, and most famous for writing "Dawn on the Irish Coast", also known as "The Exiles Return, or Morning on the Irish coast".
When in school he used to write verses of poetry on slips of paper and went on to have his first of many poems published in 1863 at the age of 16 years. He is best remembered in Callan for his poem "The Calm Avonree", where a plaque on the Town Hall building is dedicated to the patriot poet. His many poems included "The Old Abbey Well", "The Burial of Sarsfield
" and "Twilight on Slievenamon
".
However, his most famous poem was "Dawn on the Irish Coast", written in 1877 and later included in school books by the Irish Christian Brothers whose founder Edmund Rice
was also born in Callan.
This poem under the title of "Morning on the Irish coast" is printed in Volume 5 of Irish Literature edited by Justin McCarthy and published by John D Morris, Philadelphia. Under the title "Dawn on the Irish Coast" it is printed in Werner's Readings no. 3, published by E S Werner & Co., New York.
He had a reputation as a talented hurler in his younger years, and the local Callan GAA
hurling team was named the "John Lockes" when federated in 1902.
Whilst still in his teens, he became involved with the Fenian movement writing articles and poems for the Irish People
newspaper critical of British rule in Ireland. The paper was suppressed, and Locke was arrested and given a six-month term in Kilkenny
jail.
Upon his release, he spent some time in Manchester
, where he helped organise emigrant Irish groups opposed to the Union. He then set sail for America
, settling in New York
and went into full time journalism. His reputation had preceded him to America and soon became friends with a number of its finest journalist and counted among his associates, the scholar-patriot John O'Mahony
. He continued to write poetry, much of it focusing on the people and places he had left behind in Ireland.
On January 31, 1889 John Locke died at the early age of 42 years.
. It was inspired by a friend’s account of a brief return visit to Ireland. The aged gentleman described how he felt when the ship slowly approached the Irish coast as dawn broke.
Standing on the deck, his weary eyes beheld a vision of beauty as the emerald green of the Kerry
coastline came into view. For the first time in 30 years, he looked upon his native land.
As an exile and one destined never to see Ireland again, Locke was deeply moved by the man’s emotional account of his return to the Emerald Isle. The resulting poem has been quoted at parties, conferences, patriotic rallies and in thousands of pubs and hotels over the past 120 years.
When U.S. President Ronald Reagan
visited Ireland in 1984, he quoted the first verse to rousing applause.
"The Exiles Return, or Morning on the Irish coast"
D'anam chun De! but there it is—
The dawn on the hills of Ireland
!
God's angels lifting the night's black veil
From the fair, sweet face of my sireland !
O, Ireland! isn't grand you look—
Like a bride in her rich adornin !
With all the pent-up love of my heart
I bid you the top of the morning !
This one short hour pays lavishly back
For many a year of mourning;
I'd almost venture another flight,
There's so much joy in returning—
Watching out for the hallowed shore,
All other attractions scornin;
O, Ireland! don't you hear me shout?
I bid you the top o' the morning!
O, kindly, generous Irish land,
So leal and fair and loving!
No wonder the wandering Celt
should think
And dream of you in his roving.
The alien home may have gems and gold,
Shadows may never have gloomed it;
But the heart will sigh for the absent land
Where the love-light first illumed it
Ho, ho ! upon Cliodhna's shelving strand
The surges are grandly beating,
And Kerry is pushing her headlands out
To give us the kindly greeting!
Into the shore the sea- birds fly
On pinions that know no drooping,
And out from the cliffs, with welcomes charged,
A million of waves come trooping.
For thirty Summers, a stoir mo chroidhe,
Those hills I now feast my eyes on
Ne'er met my vision save when they rose
Over memory's dim horizon.
E'en so, 'twas grand and fair they seemed
In the landscape spread before me;
But dreams are dreams, and my eyes would open
To see a Texas' sky still o'er me.
And doesn't old Cobh
look charming there
Watching the wild waves' motion,
Leaning her back up against the hills,
And the tip of her toes in the ocean.
I wonder I don't hear Shandon
's bells—
Ah! maybe their chiming's over,
For it's many a year since I began
The life of a western rover.
Oh! often upon the Texas
plains,
When the day and the chase were over,
My thoughts would fly o'er the weary wave,
And around this coastline hover;
And the prayer would rise that some future day-
All danger and doubting scorning—
I'd help to win for my native land
The light of young Liberty's morning!
Now fuller and truer the shoreline shows—
Was ever a scene so splendid?
I feel the breath of the Munster
breeze,
Thank God that my exile's ended!
Old scenes, old songs, old friends again,
The vale and the cot I was born in—
O, Ireland, up from my heart of hearts
I bid you the top o' the mornin!
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
writer and Fenian
Fenian
The Fenians , both the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood , were fraternal organisations dedicated to the establishment of an independent Irish Republic in the 19th and early 20th century. The name "Fenians" was first applied by John O'Mahony to the members of the Irish republican...
activist, exiled to the United States, and most famous for writing "Dawn on the Irish Coast", also known as "The Exiles Return, or Morning on the Irish coast".
Early life
Locke was born in 1847 in Minauns, Callan, County Kilkenny.When in school he used to write verses of poetry on slips of paper and went on to have his first of many poems published in 1863 at the age of 16 years. He is best remembered in Callan for his poem "The Calm Avonree", where a plaque on the Town Hall building is dedicated to the patriot poet. His many poems included "The Old Abbey Well", "The Burial of Sarsfield
Sarsfield
-People:*Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan , Irish Jacobite leader*Dalmacio Vélez Sársfield, Argentine leader*Eugene S. Sarsfield, US Navy*Mairuth Sarsfield, author-Places:*Vélez Sársfield , Buenos Aires...
" and "Twilight on Slievenamon
Slievenamon
Slievenamon is a mountain in County Tipperary in the province of Munster in Ireland. It stands at 721 m . It is located in the south of the county, near the town of Clonmel...
".
However, his most famous poem was "Dawn on the Irish Coast", written in 1877 and later included in school books by the Irish Christian Brothers whose founder Edmund Rice
Edmund Ignatius Rice
Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice , was a Roman Catholic missionary and educationalist. Edmund was the founder of two orders of religious brothers: the Congregation of Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers....
was also born in Callan.
This poem under the title of "Morning on the Irish coast" is printed in Volume 5 of Irish Literature edited by Justin McCarthy and published by John D Morris, Philadelphia. Under the title "Dawn on the Irish Coast" it is printed in Werner's Readings no. 3, published by E S Werner & Co., New York.
He had a reputation as a talented hurler in his younger years, and the local Callan GAA
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
hurling team was named the "John Lockes" when federated in 1902.
Whilst still in his teens, he became involved with the Fenian movement writing articles and poems for the Irish People
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
newspaper critical of British rule in Ireland. The paper was suppressed, and Locke was arrested and given a six-month term in Kilkenny
Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
jail.
Upon his release, he spent some time in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, where he helped organise emigrant Irish groups opposed to the Union. He then set sail for America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, settling in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and went into full time journalism. His reputation had preceded him to America and soon became friends with a number of its finest journalist and counted among his associates, the scholar-patriot John O'Mahony
John O'Mahony
John O'Mahony may refer to:*John O'Mahony , founder of the Irish Republican Brotherhood *John O'Mahony , Irish Fine Gael politician representing Mayo and twice an All-Ireland winner managing the Galway Football Team*Sean Matgamna , also known as John O'Mahony, Trotskyist theorist*Seán O'Mahony ,...
. He continued to write poetry, much of it focusing on the people and places he had left behind in Ireland.
Marriage
In 1881 John Locke married Mary Cooney – a native of Kilkenny city and herself a poet – in Villanova College in New York. This ceremony was performed by Rev. Dr. Joseph Locke, O.S.A., John’s brother.On January 31, 1889 John Locke died at the early age of 42 years.
Poetry
John Locke was a prolific writer of short stories as well as a number of full length novels. After joining the staff of the Celtic Monthly Locke wrote what is considered his finest full-length novel, The Shamrock and Palmetto. He followed this with an historical novel Ulick Grace: A Tale of the Tithes. However, he is today best remembered for one of his poems, "Dawn on the Irish Coast"[2] also known as the "Emigrants Anthem". The poem was set to music in 1896 by A A Needham and popularised in song by Harry Plunket GreeneHarry Plunket Greene
Harry Plunket Greene was an Irish baritone singer who was most famous in the formal concert and oratorio repertoire. He made a great contribution to British musical life also by writing and lecturing upon his art, and in the field of competitions and examinations...
. It was inspired by a friend’s account of a brief return visit to Ireland. The aged gentleman described how he felt when the ship slowly approached the Irish coast as dawn broke.
Standing on the deck, his weary eyes beheld a vision of beauty as the emerald green of the Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
coastline came into view. For the first time in 30 years, he looked upon his native land.
As an exile and one destined never to see Ireland again, Locke was deeply moved by the man’s emotional account of his return to the Emerald Isle. The resulting poem has been quoted at parties, conferences, patriotic rallies and in thousands of pubs and hotels over the past 120 years.
When U.S. President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
visited Ireland in 1984, he quoted the first verse to rousing applause.
"The Exiles Return, or Morning on the Irish coast"
D'anam chun De! but there it is—
The dawn on the hills of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
!
God's angels lifting the night's black veil
From the fair, sweet face of my sireland !
O, Ireland! isn't grand you look—
Like a bride in her rich adornin !
With all the pent-up love of my heart
I bid you the top of the morning !
This one short hour pays lavishly back
For many a year of mourning;
I'd almost venture another flight,
There's so much joy in returning—
Watching out for the hallowed shore,
All other attractions scornin;
O, Ireland! don't you hear me shout?
I bid you the top o' the morning!
O, kindly, generous Irish land,
So leal and fair and loving!
No wonder the wandering Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
should think
And dream of you in his roving.
The alien home may have gems and gold,
Shadows may never have gloomed it;
But the heart will sigh for the absent land
Where the love-light first illumed it
Ho, ho ! upon Cliodhna's shelving strand
The surges are grandly beating,
And Kerry is pushing her headlands out
To give us the kindly greeting!
Into the shore the sea- birds fly
On pinions that know no drooping,
And out from the cliffs, with welcomes charged,
A million of waves come trooping.
For thirty Summers, a stoir mo chroidhe,
Those hills I now feast my eyes on
Ne'er met my vision save when they rose
Over memory's dim horizon.
E'en so, 'twas grand and fair they seemed
In the landscape spread before me;
But dreams are dreams, and my eyes would open
To see a Texas' sky still o'er me.
And doesn't old Cobh
Cobh
Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island...
look charming there
Watching the wild waves' motion,
Leaning her back up against the hills,
And the tip of her toes in the ocean.
I wonder I don't hear Shandon
Shandon, Cork
Shandon is a district in Cork city noted for The Bells of Shandon, a song celebrating the bells of the Church of St Anne written by Francis Sylvester Mahony under the pen name of "Father Prout".-People associated with Shandon:* John Arnott, 1st...
's bells—
Ah! maybe their chiming's over,
For it's many a year since I began
The life of a western rover.
Oh! often upon the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
plains,
When the day and the chase were over,
My thoughts would fly o'er the weary wave,
And around this coastline hover;
And the prayer would rise that some future day-
All danger and doubting scorning—
I'd help to win for my native land
The light of young Liberty's morning!
Now fuller and truer the shoreline shows—
Was ever a scene so splendid?
I feel the breath of the Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
breeze,
Thank God that my exile's ended!
Old scenes, old songs, old friends again,
The vale and the cot I was born in—
O, Ireland, up from my heart of hearts
I bid you the top o' the mornin!