Seamus Kearney 🎤 Thomas McElwee - died on Hunger Strike, 8th August 1981.
His strong voice echoes with me still
Tommy two cups we named him
Standing six foot tall, clenched fists
Always ready to defend himself and the Republic He so fervently seen through his one remaining eye
♞♜♝
Despite the harshness of the prison years
The winter of 78', the meagre food rations
He battled on, through snow and ice
The sweat of a summer sun
The nakedness of a concrete tomb, he refused to yield
♞♜♝
As the seasons changed, he never did
His weakening body turned into a human armalite
Confined to the punishment block
♞♜♝
He continued to hold the vision of a better dawn within his Irish heart
When it came his turn to die, he turned his face into the wind
His bravery unparalleled,
And defying the natural urge to live
♞♜♝
He died on hunger strike and did it with such grace
That others might one day sing and dance
To the beat of a different drum
♞♜♝
And now many years later
As I see him in my dreams
I walk the cells barefooted
The ghost of him still lingers
Scolding me for doubting
♞♜♝
The victory he always envisioned for us and our people
A dream that eventually came true
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| Seamus Kearney is a former Blanketman and author of No Greater Love - The Memoirs of Seamus Kearney. |
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