The Irish Civil War

by St. Matthew’s N.S. Sandymount

The Irish Civil War
Family, friends and futures were lost,
War is bad! And
Black and Tans kill, die, murder the Irish people,
A difference of opinion ripping through families and tearing apart friendships
Friend killing friend, families destroyed
In these dark times, families and friends were divided with their views
When Collins signed the Treaty, he split Ireland apart
Devastation and havoc being caused
Best friends turned into enemies
Two sides of the same coin, fighting each other,
What was your best man was now your enemy.
Running up the stairs with guns, they kick down the door
After the Easter Rising, the Four Courts burned
The burning of Cork
People on hunger strike due to fake imprisonment
Will we be wracked with sorrow and anger, will we have cracked?
Bang, loud, sad, scared,
Smoky smells, concrete crashing, footsteps running, gunshots ringing,
Michael Collins was pro-treaty
The car stopped as the tree fell the slot ran as he fell dead
Lily Brennan wrote a diary in prison
Death and destruction, devastation and sadness,
The Black and Tans are very mean,
Devastation everywhere they looked
Chaos throughout the city, people screaming for help!
People fighting, shooting, they fight for their opinions,
All this sorrow and despair
Erin’s lost men and women, big and small, fat and thin, kind and cruel,
War is BAD!
Michael Collins was a legend.

Written by pupils at St. Matthew’s N.S., Sandymount, as part of Poetry as Commemoration workshops led by Lucinda Jacob in May 2022.