The Cremation of Sam McGee | When I observed this plaque on a grave in Ennistymon Cemetery, I presumed that the man in the image was Sam McGee and that he was buried there. I did wonder at the relevance of the poem – maybe someone who died in America and returned home. Once again, the internet provides the something new that it is learnt today but doesn’t answer all the questions that come to mind. Unlike Bruce Springsteen in Kilgobbin or Harry Lauder in Ennis, the poem does not convey perseverance, meeting again or what one might expect on a headstone, so the relevance of the poem may be purely personal. The poem did achieve the objective of thinking about the man in the image, both at the time and while writing this – even if his name remains a mystery to me. |