“I joined the British Army because she stood between Ireland and an…” — Francis Ledwidge

“I joined the British Army because she stood between Ireland and an enemy common to our civilisation, and I would not have her say that she defended us while we did nothing at home but pass resolutions.”

Explains the sense of duty behind his decision to enlist · Autobiographical letter to Lewis Chase, 6 June 1917

Francis Ledwidge

About Francis Ledwidge

19 August 1887–31 July 1917

In the annals of Irish literature, few figures embody the tragic intersection of artistic promise and historical circumstance as poignantly as Francis Edward Ledwidge. Born into rural poverty in County Meath in 1887 and killed on a Belgian battlefield in 1917, Ledwidge's thirty years encompassed a meteoric rise from…

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