In Penshurst lives a poet
Francis Duggan is his name
he posts work on the internet
as well as earning local fame
.
his birth place was in Ireland
now he calls Australia home
every day writes rhyming verse
in lyrical traditional form
.
his themes range from bird and tree
through to complex human nature
soul sees both beauty and misery
sympathises with living creature
.
he wrote a wonderful anthology
called ‘Songs of Sherbrooke’
exploring many aspects of life
examines closely cranny and nook
.
if there’s something that you want
to know about life down-under
follow Frank’s heart, see through
poet’s eyes world full of wonder
by Lee Emmett, Australia
—-
(1946 – Present) I have been penning stuff since 1973 have written up to nine thousand individual pieces which can be seen on various online poetry sites, I was born and raised in Claraghatlea, Millstreet Co Cork Ireland and I have been living in Victoria Australia for the past twenty three years (since 1989) – Francis Duggan.
—-
Contact Francis: <email>
i would really like to contact Francis Duggan and talk with him So ya my email is <email>
I have a research thesis on Sir Francis Duggan as “expression of racism in his poetry”.
may get a chance to speak to him in order of helping me out. I’m from Pakistan.
how can I get more informations about Francis Duggan?
hi Maula,
to get to know more about Franics, I would suggest reading his poetry. There’s lots of them at:
* francisrhymer.blogspot.com
* poemhunter.com, or
* dreamagic.com.
On the other hand, you can ask him himself by sending him an email using our contact form: => <email>.
hi Michael,
I am very grateful you are willing to reply to my message.
I could find Francis Duggan’s poems a lot at the address above. but I do not get any information about the biography of Francis Duggan and not even his picture. Could you plese giving me some more informations about him if you don’t mind. well, maybe I will ask him himself when I’m ready ask.
When was Racism Is Around Me Everywhere written?
hi Michael,
I am very grateful you are willing to reply to my message.
I could find Francis Duggan’s poems a lot at the address above. but I do not get any information about the biography of Francis Duggan and not even his picture. Could you plese giving me some more informations about him if you don’t mind. well, maybe I will ask him himself when I’m ready to ask.
well, finally i got his picture, is this it? is he Francis Duggan on this picture? http://www.millstreet.ie/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/2010_0626june25b10newcn0318-600-0055.jpg
No that’s not him Maula (it’s Fr.Declan O’Connor and Mr Doody from Kingdom Catering) i don’t have a picture of him or bio info on him other than. unless someone else gives you the information, you’ll have to ask him himself.
Thank you Michael, I will ask him himself, hope I can communicate with him. btw do you know him personally?
hey this is honey and i would like to know more about the poems francis writes. Like “Racism Is Around Me Everywhere.” i would like to know how u found the inspiration to write that poem???
The poem referred to in the previous comment is this one by Francis Duggan:
Racism Is Around Me Everywhere
Of human ignorance I am almost in despair
For racism is around me everywhere
But like they say sheer ignorance is bliss
Just like Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.
Some people carry their honour in a flag
And of their Nationality they brag
They feel superior and they differentiate
And against those who are different they discriminate.
So many people still judged by their race
For such there never ought to be a place
‘A fair go’ those untruthful words I do recall
There is no such a thing as a ‘fair go for all’.
Though we live in a so called democracy
Of racism we never will be free
They judge you by where you come from and the colour of your skin
For many equality and respect seems impossible to win.
It’s been awhile since the days of Martin Luther King
His name to it has a familiar ring
If against racism he did not choose to strive
Today the great man he would be alive.
So many holding the reins of power not spiritually aware
And racism is around me everywhere
And racism only leads to division and war
Just goes to show how ignorant some are.
by Francis Duggan
———–
Indeed a Speech Choir from the Phillipines (I think) recited the poem with some acting and have put it on youTube, see below:
I went to see life in the big World out there
To join in the swollen ranks of the those from elsewhere
But since the biological clock it has become my foe
And i am no better off now than i was years ago
For my lack of success i only have myself to blame
Though it feels heartening to me that i will not die in shame
And though the thought of death is a thing i do fear
Of any wrongdoing to others my conscience is clear
Of the home of the badger and brown river trout
My journey in life has taken me far south
To the place of the black wallaby, emu, koala and grey kangaroo
And the white long billed corella and the yellow tailed black cockatoo
Yet i envy the stay at home people and their strong sense of place
In familiar surroundings every challenge in life they do face
Quite happy to live where they are well known
The individuals referred to as one of our own
My journey in life has me far away
From where i first looked on the bright lamp of day
Where old Clara Mountain does ever look down
On the green countryside just west of Millstreet Town.
“I Went To See Life” is by Francis Duggan
http://francisrhymer.blogspot.ie/2014/12/i-went-to-see-life.html
(mdc)
Of the hard ways of life of i have come to know
Far south of where old River Finnow does flow
In the old rushy fields by the Town of Millstreet
The scenic countryside where the waterways meet
That time is our master none ought to deny
On looking back the years the Seasons do fly
In ten years from now if living i will be an old man
And close to the end of my given time span
In the quiet of a Summer twilight in a field by the River Finnow
In fancy i can hear the soft lowing of a cow
Under a darkening sky just after sundown
In the beautiful countryside near Millstreet Town
The past may be gone but the memories remain
Of a mottled brown lark singing in the gray clouds of rain
Above Matty Owens bog in the gloam of the day
In the cool of the evening in the prime of the May
My journey in life it has brought me far south
Of the home of the badger and the brown river trout
But good memories of what was today i retain
When in fancy i walk in the old fields again.
“Of The Hard Ways Of Life” is by Francis Duggan
http://francisrhymer.blogspot.ie/2015/03/of-hard-ways-of-life.html
(added by mdc)
I went to school with francis duggan & was a close neighbour of his, Love to hear from him as I haven’t seen him for many years.
Denis Murphy.
The bug of the wander it had bitten me
Beyond Clara Mountain there were places for to see
The Boggeragh hills in their white hats of snow
And Finnow in brown flood waters bank high in the old fields did flow
The cattle in the farm sheds were bellowing for silage or hay
On that bleak and that wintery December day
A cold wind driven rain it was drizzling down
As i boarded the Rosslare bus in Millstreet Town
To the boat that take migrants from Hibernia’s shore
On a journey that many had been on before
The lure of the wander lures many away
From the place where they first looked on the lamp of day
Though sometimes i feel nostalgic for the long gone years
For what used to be i have shed my last tears
All we have are our memories of Seasons long gone
But the now is all that does matter and life does go on
I do sort of envy those at home happy to stay
Who never yearn to travel to Lands far away
But how boring we would be for want of a better name
If in our thinking and interests we all were the same
The past may be gone but the memories of it remain
And in fancy i often visit Duhallow again
When the old fields are in their wildflowers of the May
And the hawthorns are cloaked in their blooms of white to gray
Far south of where mine used to be a known face
I am just a fellow from another place
But despite my years of absence from there it does seem to me
That a fellow from Millstreet is all i can be.
“A Fellow From Millstreet” is by Francis Duggan
http://francisrhymer.blogspot.ie/2015/05/a-fellow-from-millstreet.html
(added by mdc)
If ever i go back to Millstreet any stories of personal success i do not have to tell
Since on my journeys south of Claraghatlea i have not done financially well
And those with heaps of money are admired and looked up to in Millstreet as well as everywhere
One of the main reasons many young people do migrate to try their luck in the big World out there
I may be quite low in finances but i am quite wealthy in another way
I feel privileged by the natural beauty that is all around me every day
It may be Winter in the Moyne Shire but clusters of yellow blossoms on every wattle tree
In coastal south west Victoria in every Season there is natural beauty for to see
But here i will always be a migrant where time has left me looking older and gray
Though here i feel inwardly contented and here i feel happy to stay
For as long as the urge is not in me for to move on to another place
Though here i am a stranger to many and mine is not a recognized face
Here i often see emu and koala, echidna, wallaby and gray kangaroo
And long billed corella and crimson rosella and the big dark brown parrot yellow tailed black cockatoo
And the migratory cattle egrets as white as the new fallen snow
In July and August amongst the herds eating insects disturbed by them grazing my wonder of Nature only does grow
If ever i go back to Millstreet i can only tell of the natural beauty i have seen
In my travels in south eastern Australia where the landscape is not always green
Though i could not tell them of any financial successes with my words why should i deceive
But wealth it does have many faces at least this is what i believe.
“If Ever I Go Back To Millstreet” is by Francis Duggan
http://francisrhymer.blogspot.ie/2015/08/if-ever-i-go-back-to-millstreet.html
(added by mdc)
Hello,
I was hoping that someone would know when “Ned Kelly” by Francis Duggan was first released/published.
Thank You.
Lauren