author
Francis Ledwidge
1887–1917
An Irish poet whose lyrics are rooted in the fields and birdsong of County Meath, he became one of the best-known voices of the First World War. His work blends a deep love of the natural world with the sadness of a life cut short in 1917.
1 Audiobook
The Complete Poems of Francis Ledwidge with Introductions by Lord Dunsany
by Francis Ledwidge
About the author
Born near Slane, County Meath, in 1887, Francis Ledwidge grew up in a poor rural family and left school young to work at manual jobs. Poetry became his way forward, and his gift was recognized with help from Lord Dunsany, who encouraged his writing and helped bring it to a wider audience.
Ledwidge is often remembered for the musical, nature-filled quality of his verse, which is why he was sometimes called the "poet of the blackbirds." Even when writing in a time of political upheaval and war, he kept a strong feeling for the Irish countryside at the center of his work.
He served as a soldier during the First World War, and his first collection, Songs of the Fields, was published while he was in uniform. He was killed in Belgium in 1917 at just 29, but his poems and later collections helped secure his place as one of the distinctive Irish poetic voices of his generation.