MCS Ireland

As suppliers of memorial cards at Memorial Card Shop we often cater for Irish Catholic funerals. Although memorials cards are now used more widely across a range of religions, and even for non-religious ceremonies, they were first recorded being used by Catholics; Irish Catholics continue to be the main user of in-memoriam cards today. If you want to know more about the history of memorial cards then you can find our blog on it here.

With this in mind we decided to put together a list of our favourite Irish poems that are perfect for memorials, funerals, and prayer/memorial cards. If you’re looking for poems or shorter verses that aren’t specifically Irish then we have a whole list of long verses, short verses and thank you messages for funerals and memorial cards which you can browse.

 

 

1. An Old Irish Blessing: May the Road Rise Up to Meet You

Unknown Author

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

 

2. An Irish Funeral Prayer

Henry Scott Holland

Death is nothing at all.

It does not count.

I have only slipped away into the next room.

Everything remains as it was.

The old life that we lived so fondly together

is untouched, unchanged.

Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

Call me by the old familiar name.

Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.

Put no sorrow in your tone.

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that

we enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.

Let my name be ever the household word

that it always was.

Let it be spoken without effort

Life means all that it ever meant.

It is the same as it ever was.

There is unbroken continuity.

Why should I be out of mind because

I am out of sight?

I am but waiting for you, for an interval,

somewhere very near, just around the corner.

All is well. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.

One brief moment and all will be as it was before.

How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting,

when we meet again.

 

3. More Glorious Than Ireland

Kelly Roper

The beauty of the Irish hills

Has always been a balm to my soul.

To think that Heaven must be

Even more glorious than Ireland

Fills me with a desire to see it.

So I've gone ahead of all of you,

But rest assured,

I'll be there when you catch up.

 

4. Freedom

George William Russell

I will not follow you, my bird,

I will not follow you.

I would not breathe a word, my bird,

To bring thee here anew.


I love the free in thee, my bird,

The lure of freedom drew;

The light you fly toward, my bird,

I fly with thee unto.


And there we yet will meet, my bird,

Though far I go from you

Where in the light outpoured, my bird,

Are love and freedom too.

 

5. Remembered Joy

Unknown Author

Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free!

I follow the plan God laid for me.

I saw His face, I heard His call,

I took His hand and left it all…

I could not stay another day,

To love, to laugh, to work or play;

Tasks left undone must stay that way.

And if my parting has left a void,

Then fill it with remembered joy.

A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss…

Ah yes, these things I, too, shall miss.

My life’s been full, I’ve savoured much:

Good times, good friends, a loved-one’s touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief –

Don’t shorten yours with undue grief.

Be not burdened with tears of sorrow,

Enjoy the sunshine of the morrow.

 

We hope you find peace of mind within these poems for memorial cards, maybe even some inspiration to try and write your own. Don’t forget that we have a whole page dedicated to long verses/poems which you can browse here.

 

Read more

A - Z Memorial Poems

A - Z Memorial Poems

Mom Poems

Mom Poems

Dad Poems

Dad Poems

Short Poems

Short Poems

Kandoy House,2 Fairview Strand, Dublin