The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #48816   Message #735606
Posted By: GUEST,Philippa
24-Jun-02 - 06:22 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Add: Dawning of the Day
Subject: Lyr Add: THE OUTLAW OF LOCH LENE
The following poem seems similar in respect to the vision of the woman, and has the same location.
THE OUTLAW OF LOCH LENE
Anonymous, 18th century, translated from the Irish by J J Callanan

Oh, many a day have I made good ale in the glen.
That came not of stream, or malt, like the brewing of men;
My bed was the ground; my rood the greenwood above,
And the wealth that I sought - one far kind glance from my love.

Alas! On the night when the horses I drove from the field,
That I was not near, from terror my angel to shield!
She stretched forth her arms - her mantle she flung to the wind,
And swam o'er Loch Lene, her outlawed lover to find.

Oh, would that a freezing, sleet-winged tempest did sweep,
And I and my love were alone far off on the deep!
I'd ask not a ship, or a bark, or pinnace to save -
With her hand round my waist, I'd fear not the wind or the wave.

'Tis down by the lake where the wild tree fringes its sides,
The maid of my heart, the fair one of heaven resides;
I think as at eve she wanders its mazes along,
The birds go to sleep by the sweet wild twist of her song.

JJ Callanan also translated 'Príosún Chluain Meala' as 'The Convict of Clonmel'. Kathleen Hoagland's "1000 Years of Irish Poetry" includes five poetic translations by Callanan and this biographical information:
""Callanan, James Joseph (Jeremiah) - was born in Cork, May 1795; died in Lisbon, Portugal, September 19, 1829. His parents wished him to become a priest and he entered Maynooth at the age of 17; but after two years left and entered Trinity College, Dublin, to study medicine. At Trinity he won two prizes for poetry. Leaving Trinity, he enlisted an after buying a release, gained a scant livelihood by teaching. Later, Callanan wandered through Ireland, gathering its legends and poetry. He died of tuberculosis in Portugal where he had gone as a tutor. His poetry was published in Cork in 1861. He was the first to give adequate versions of Irish Gaelic poems, and also among the first to introduce a Gaelic refrain into English poetry."

I find the last comment about Gaelic refrains in English poetry and would be interested in seeing some documentation; if anybody has any information on the topic, maybe they could start an appropriate discussion thread.