Deirdre The Feis Ceoil Prize cantata: Dublin 1897: The words by T. W. Rolleston: With an illustration by Althea Gyles, and initial letters, headpieces, and tailpieces by N. Baxter, Helen Hay, and John Duncan |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. | Part III. |
 | Deirdre |  |
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III. Part III.
Scene: before the Hostel of the Red Branch in Emain Macha.NARRATIVE
The sun upriseth in fruitful Erin,
His glory gleaming on wood and lawn.
The painted Dûns in the royal city
Are brightly lit in the rosy dawn.
His glory gleaming on wood and lawn.
The painted Dûns in the royal city
Are brightly lit in the rosy dawn.
But from the roof of the Red Branch Hostel
The black smoke rolls to the summer sky,
And there the last of the Clan of Usna
Are grimly mustered to fight and die.
The black smoke rolls to the summer sky,
And there the last of the Clan of Usna
Are grimly mustered to fight and die.
The night is over—the night of battle,
Of wrath and anguish and wild despair.
And Fergus lingers, the frank and kindly,
His bold eyes blinded in Conor's snare.
Of wrath and anguish and wild despair.
And Fergus lingers, the frank and kindly,
His bold eyes blinded in Conor's snare.
The last, last onset is now advancing,
A rain of lances, a storm of blows.
Like pines in tempest the sons of Usna
Go down loud-crashing among their foes.
A rain of lances, a storm of blows.
Like pines in tempest the sons of Usna
Go down loud-crashing among their foes.
Still, at last, is the roar of battle,
And Conor stands in the morning red,
And gazes silent with old eyes weary
On Deirdre kneeling among her dead.
And Conor stands in the morning red,
And gazes silent with old eyes weary
On Deirdre kneeling among her dead.
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O Sword of Naisi, ancient friend,
Deal yet one blow, the last and best;
And Deirdre to her lover send
To share his endless rest.
Deal yet one blow, the last and best;
And Deirdre to her lover send
To share his endless rest.
The Lions from the hill are gone
The Dragons from the cave are fled,
The Eagles from the rock have flown,
The Mother wails her dead.
The Dragons from the cave are fled,
The Eagles from the rock have flown,
The Mother wails her dead.
O Sons of Usna, kind and brave,
Your glory shone from sea to sea.
Would I were lying in my grave
Ere you had died for me.
Your glory shone from sea to sea.
Would I were lying in my grave
Ere you had died for me.
O Ye, who pay to each his due,
Have vengeance for this deed of bale
Upon the traitor King who slew
The noblest of the Gael.
Have vengeance for this deed of bale
Upon the traitor King who slew
The noblest of the Gael.
From age to age let glory grow
Upon the fierce avenging hand
That heaps the measure of its woe
Upon an impious land.
Upon the fierce avenging hand
That heaps the measure of its woe
Upon an impious land.
The Lions from the hill are fled,
The Eagles from the rock have flown,
Soon, soon I join my sacred dead,
And go where they have gone.
The Eagles from the rock have flown,
Soon, soon I join my sacred dead,
And go where they have gone.
For Usna's sons make wide the tomb,
O dig the grave both deep and wide,
Where Deirdre till the day of doom
Shall sleep at Naisi's side.
O dig the grave both deep and wide,
Where Deirdre till the day of doom
Shall sleep at Naisi's side.
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CHORUS.
A blind hand sowed the seed of Fate—
The black earth bred it,
The kind rains fed it,
And branch on branch and leaf on leaf
It flourished and waxed great.
Passion the fruit it bore, and Wrong, and Grief.
The black earth bred it,
The kind rains fed it,
And branch on branch and leaf on leaf
It flourished and waxed great.
Passion the fruit it bore, and Wrong, and Grief.
And in the glory of its prime
From that dark seed
Sprang many a golden deed
Blooming in deathless flower of song and tale,
And shining for all time
To light the story of the island Gael.
From that dark seed
Sprang many a golden deed
Blooming in deathless flower of song and tale,
And shining for all time
To light the story of the island Gael.
| Deirdre | |