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clear=all>  <TABLE> <TR> <TD valign="TOP"> <IMG SRC="http://www.irelandseye.com/newmedia/culture/literature/jonathan_swift_logo.jpg" ALT="Jonathan Swift's Ireland logo"> <h3>Jonathan Swift's sojourn in Laracor, County Meath</h3> <P> The playful side of [Jonathan Swift’s] literary personality is heard in one of several poems he wrote while vicar of Laracor, entitled ‘On The Little House by the Churchyard at Castleknock’. This whimsical narrative tells of a vicarage just outside the northern limits of Dublin, on the Navan road, which had been almost levelled by a storm, and is now a vivid image of clerical misery:<br> <blockquote> The vicar once a week creeps in<br> Sits with his knees up to his chin;<br> Here cons his notes, and takes a whet,<br> Till a small ragged flock is met. </blockquote> As the story develops, most of Swift’s Laracor friends pass by, each one trying, without success, to guess what the ruin used to be. Esther Johnson suggests an illicit still, Dr Raymond a ‘pigmy’s tomb’, Warburton a pigeon house. The company agrees to restore the site, with Swift to supply ‘willow sticks’ from his glebe, and Joe Beaumont to donate the bricks. This kind of informal verse was usually composed for pure entertainment, circulated amongst friends and rarely considered for serious publication. </p><p> Read more about the early career and travels of Jonathan Swift in the book by Joseph McMinn; '<b>Jonathan's Travels: Swift and Ireland</b>'.<hr></p><p><br> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0862814537/applepress03-20/ref=nosim"><img src="http://www.appletree.ie/cat/books/covmed4537.gif" Height=150 ALIGN=LEFT></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0862814537/applepress03-20/ref=nosim"><I>Jonathan's Travels</I></a>, by Joseph McMinn. For more information on the book, click <A href="http://www.appletree.ie/cat/books/4537.htm">here</a>.<br> Also from Appletree: <A href="http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0862817595/applepress03-20/ref=nosim"><I>Famous Irish Lives</I></a>, <A href="http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0862817595/applepress03-20/ref=nosim">click here to buy</A> or <A href="http://www.appletree.ie/cat/books/7595.htm">here</A> for more information & <A href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0862815487/applepress03-20/ref=nosim"> <I>Irish Museums and Heritage Centres</I></a>, click <A href="http://www.appletree.ie/cat/books/5487.htm">here</A> for more information.<P></P> </TD> <TD width="180" align="RIGHT" valign="TOP"> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script></TD> </TR> </TABLE> <P> [ <A HREF="#top">Back to Top</A> ]<P><FONT SIZE=2>All Material © 1999-2005 Irelandseye.com and contributors</FONT><BR><BR clear=all></FONT></TD> </TR> <TR><TD BGCOLOR="#336699" width=120 valign=bottom><IMG SRC="/newmedia/ssi/bluwaves.jpg" WIDTH=120 HEIGHT=145 ALIGN=TOP></TD> <TD><IMG SRC="/Images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=20 HEIGHT=2 ALIGN=TOP></TD> </TR> <TR><TD colspan=5 BGCOLOR="#336699" align=right><IMG SRC="/Images/spacer.gif" WIDTH=100 HEIGHT=1 ALIGN=TOP></TD> </TR></TABLE> <BR><CENTER><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA">[ <A HREF="http://www.irelandseye.com">Home</A> | <A HREF="http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/features/index.shtm">Features</A> | <A HREF="http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/culture/index.shtm">Culture</A> | <A HREF="http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/history/index.shtm">History</A> | <A HREF="http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/travel/index.shtm">Travel</A> ]</FONT></CENTER> </body> </html> </body> </html>