I Am of Ireland
I Am of Ireland - meaning Summary
An Insistence on Homeland
The poem stages a repeated exchange between a woman who insists on Ireland as a sacred, irresistible home and a solitary man who resists her invitation to dance. Her refrain, "I am of Ireland...And time runs on," presses urgency and belonging, while he replies with distance and complaints about failing music and rough night. The clash suggests tension between rooted national attachment and private withdrawal or disillusionment.
Read Complete Analyses'I am of Ireland, And the Holy Land of Ireland, And time runs on,' cried she. 'Come out of charity, Come dance with me in Ireland.' One man, one man alone In that outlandish gear, One solitary man Of all that rambled there Had turned his stately head. That is a long way off, And time runs on,' he said, 'And the night grows rough.' 'I am of Ireland, And the Holy Land of Ireland, And time runs on,' cried she. 'Come out of charity And dance with me in Ireland.' 'The fiddlers are all thumbs, Or the fiddle-string accursed, The drums and the kettledrums And the trumpets all are burst, And the trombone,' cried he, 'The trumpet and trombone,' And cocked a malicious eye, 'But time runs on, runs on.' I am of Ireland, And the Holy Land of Ireland, And time runs on,' cried she. "Come out of charity And dance with me in Ireland.'
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