Green, White and Gold

by Anne Gaynor

What did it cost you, Thomas,

To fight for your country

In a lonely prison cell? What kept you going?

Was it the songs, the stories, the strength of your men?

Was de Valera your man

All wound around the green, white and gold?

There are more stories to be told.

Reproduced with kind permission of the author. This poem was composed in Poetry as Commemoration workshops held at Newbridge Library in January 2023. The workshops were led by writer Debbie Thomas and archivist Karel Kiely using archival material from the Curragh Internment Camp during the War of Independence.

This poem is inspired by Tomas Smyth who wrote in the autograph book of Sylvester Delahunt on August 29th 1921. Both men were interned in the Curragh Camp during the war. Autograph books were popular in the camp and contained poems and sketches by internees.