An Annotated Pogues
Lyrics Page -
Red Roses for
Me
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"Red Roses for Me" is also the name of a play written in 1943 by Sean O'Casey (1880-1964). O'Casey, nee John Casey, was born in Dublin to Protestant parents but gaelicized his name as he became involved in Irish republican politics. His writing career began as a contributor to the socialist press of the day, and he became involved in socialist politics -- joining Jim Larkin's Irish Transport and General Workers' Union and James Connolly's Irish Citizens Army. He eventually broke with the ICA and his earliest successes on the stage -- "The Shadow of a Gunman" (1923), "Juno and the Paycock" (1924) and "The Plough and the Stars" (1926) -- all revolve around Irish nationalist politics. In 1926 he left Ireland for England and settled there permanently. One of the songs in the play is called "Red Roses" (click the link for a window with the full lyrics).
.
(1923-1964),
noted Irish playwright and author. His best known works are
probably the autobiographical Borstal Boy (1958) and
his plays The Hostage (1958) and The Quare
Fellow (1959). His plays were performed to wide acclaim
in London, New York, and Paris. He was also a left wing
(i.e., socialist), republican (Irish) political activist. He
was arrested by the British in 1939 for his role in an IRA
Liverpool bombing and was sentenced to three years in jail.
He was later deported back to Dublin, where, in March of
1942 he shot a police officer during commemoration
ceremonies marking the 1916 rising. He went on the run and
was eventually arrested in June of 1942 (despite standing
orders that he be shot on sight). He was subsequently
sentenced to 14 years for the shooting, but was released as
part of a political amnesty in 1946. In 1947 he was again
arrested in Britain for violating the terms of his
deportation (namely, he returned to Britain). His great
success as a playwright followed shortly thereafter and he
rode a wave of popularity and critical acclaim throughout
much of the 1950s and early 1960s. Unfortunately, he died of
causes related to his alchoholism following several
unsuccessful treatment programs. He received a republican
burial in 1964 (also see "
O'Brien (writing under the pseudonym "Myles na Gopaleen")
includes an account of "Hunger-stack," a mountain whose
summit had a cave with not one but two streams of whiskey;
one of which flowed freely and provided sustenance, while
the other was afire and provided warmth and light in the
cave. The protagonist of the novel -- a desperately poor
gaelic-speaking man -- scales the mountain during a brutal
windswept storm in search of gold coins alleged to have been
taken there some years earlier by another desperate
irishman. The novel is a pretty funny farce, full of
allusions to other gaelic stories, so I'm not certain if the
idea is original to O'Brien or is itself from some earlier
tale.
