Joseph Plunkett, one of the seven signatories of the Proclamation of the Republic, married his sweetheart Grace Gifford on this day in 1916. He was executed the following day.
One of the most haunting renditions I have ever hear was during a virtual concert to mark St. Patrick's Day 2021, sung to an almost empty Opera House by Rachel Grace (her performance begins around the 4:50 mark):
One of the most haunting renditions I have ever hear was during a virtual concert to mark St. Patrick's Day 2021, sung to an almost empty Opera House by Rachel Grace (her performance begins around the 4:50 mark):
| Grace | |
| As we gather in the chapel here in old Kilmainham Jail | |
| I think about these past few weeks, oh will they say we've failed? | |
| From our school days they have told us we must yearn for liberty | |
| Yet all I want in this dark place is to have you here with me | |
| Chorus: | |
| Oh Grace just hold me in your arms and let this moment linger | |
| They'll take me out at dawn and I will die | |
| With all my love I place this wedding ring upon your finger | |
| There won't be time to share our love for we must say goodbye | |
| Now I know it's hard for you my love to ever understand | |
| The love I bare for these brave men, the love for my dear land | |
| But when Pádraic called me to his side down in the GPO | |
| I had to leave my own sick bed, to him I had to go | |
| (Chorus) | |
| Now as the dawn is breaking, my heart is breaking too | |
| On this May morn as I walk out, my thoughts will be of you | |
| And I'll write some words upon the wall so everyone will know | |
| I loved so much that I could see his blood upon the rose | |
| (Chorus) |
