Audio Recordings of Poems by Thomas Behan
Audio Recordings of Poems by Thomas Behan
“Tom Behan who rendered outstanding services in the fight for freedom, and who was a brave and intensely local Soldier of Ireland, was shot dead on the Curragh in 1922, and his death, still mourned as that of a man who loved his country above all things, evoked universal sorrow and regret.”
The Rambler, Rathangan Past and Present,
Kildare Observer, 30 December 1933
The Co. Kildare Decade of Commemorations Committee in partnership with the Co. Kildare Federation of Local History Groups is delighted to release the audio recordings of a selection of the poems of Thomas Behan. These recordings were made in Newbridge, Co. Kildare on 11 September 2021. You can listen to them on our Kildare Decade of Commemorations YouTube channel at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4OkFSFIDilPXrRrEQt4pBQ/videos
The recordings include an introduction by Brian McCabe, Co. Kildare Federation of Local History Groups, and Mario Corrigan, Co. Kildare Decade of Commemorations Committee.
Tom Behan was born and bred in Rathangan, Co. Kildare. As a prominent member of the local Volunteers, he was arrested in the wake of the Easter Rising in 1916, and was interned in Wakefield Jail, England. He fought during the War of Independence and was interned again just as the country found peace. When the Civil War broke out, he joined the anti-Treaty forces, and was captured and killed on the 13 December 1922.
This is an accompanying project to the re-publication of Poems by Thomas Behan, compiled and edited by Mario Corrigan and James Durney, and produced as part of the Co. Kildare Decade of Commemorations programme 2021. The booklet contains a facsimile of an original copy of the poems published in 1923, which is held in the Kildare Local Studies, Genealogy and Archives collections. Also included are a foreword by Brian McCabe, Chair of the Co. Kildare Federation of Local History Groups, an article about the Rathbride Column, and a detailed account of Thomas Behan’s life and family, as well as a selection of photographs.
Copies of the booklet are available free in Co. Kildare’s branch libraries.