I think it important to understand a few things about MacManus. His spelling was sometimes (either his or the typesetter's) a bit off, and much of his success was the result of his stories being published in the USA.

In Seumas MacManus's own words, please see the following:

http://www.catholicauthors.com/macmanus.html

We need to keep in mind that he was a writer (prose and poetry) and they do on occasion take liberties with the language.

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leeneia, excellent. I like the 'onomatopoeic dancing' of the melody because it fits so well (in my mind anyway) with what MacManus evokes in terms of the various birds and what I think of as their behaviours in the woods and meadows. Thank you and Joe for getting this on the thread.

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Last: Many of SM's works (books) are online in the same format as that linked to in the post of Date: 04 Apr 16 - 06:17 AM should anyone be looking for more of his writings. I think it important to keep in mind he was a story-teller, not an ornithographer or geographer.

Best wishes to you all.