Emerald Isle

Lastly we come to the poetical term for Ireland in most common use to-day—

In a gaelic poem quoted by Douglas Hyde, in his “Literary History of Ireland,” the appelation is partly anticipated in the following lines by an unknown sixteenth century poet:—

The foregoing is quoted as a mere coincidence, and has absolutely nothing to do with what Thomas Moore called “that rebellious but beautiful song ‘When Erin first rose.” It is by Dr. William Drennan, a Belfast man, in whose poem entitled “Erin,” written in 1795 the lines occur:—

In a little volume entitled “Fugitive Pieces in Prose and Verse,” by William Drennan, M.D., published in Belfast, March, 1815, the author in a note to the poem says “he used the term ‘Emerald Isle’ in a party song, written without rancour of party in the year 1795.” From the frequent use made of the term since that time he fondly hopes that it will generally become associated with the name of his country as descriptive of its natural beauty and its inestimable value.

The patriotic author’s aspiration has been gratified, and throughout the world wherever the English language is spoken, by the name Emerald Isle, Ireland is at once recognised as the country referred to. As is most fitting, the poet’s association with the name of his country is happily referred to in the lines inscribed upon his tomb:—