Requiem for the Croppies : Summary

Summary

In the poem “Requiem for the Croppies” the poet describes the battle of Iris in 1798. The poet mentions the Battle of Vinegar Hill while describing the rebellious spirit of the patriots who fought and sacrificed their lives in that war. Although the war was against the English, the poet wrote poems about them only in honor of them and their sacrifices.

In his poems, he beautifully depicted the hardships of the Irish during the war days. Irish soldiers said they sated their hunger by taking grain out of their coat pockets because they had no kitchen to cook or light a fire. The British drove them away all the time and during this war, from the clergy to the common people of Ireland were left homeless and took shelter behind the trenches.

The common people marched i.e. they joined the army to fight and liberate the people of their country. Every day they were discovering new ways to win this war.

Finally, their last meeting was held at Vinegar Hill where the people of Ireland fought shoulder to shoulder and thousands of Irish died. They fought standing facing cannons and their blood reddened the hillsides of Ireland.

Finally, the British gave the dead a mass grave, and from that mass grave the barley of the rebellious spirit of the Iris sprouted.

The poet mainly glorifies the sacrifice and bravery of the Iris in the Irish War of Independence through this poem.