Francis Ledwidge Museum

Introduction to Francis Ledwidge

The poet Francis Ledwidge was born in Slane on 19th August 1887. Francis was the eight of nine children born to Patrick and Anne Ledwidge at Janeville just outside the village of Slane . From the age of fourteen his works were published in his local newspaper, the Drogheda Independent reflecting his passion for the Boyne Valley. While working as a road labourer he won the patronage of the writer, Lord Dunsany, after he wrote to him in 1912, enclosing copybooks of his early work. Dunsany, a man of letters already well known in Dublin and London literary and dramatic circles, and whose own start in publishing had been with a few poems, promoted him in Dublin and introduced him to W.B. Yeats with whom he became acquainted.

The Francis Ledwidge Museum is the cottage birthplace of World War I poet, Francis Ledwidge. It is a perfect example of a 19th century farm labourer's cottage and was purchased and restored by the Francis Ledwidge Museum Committee in 1981. Dr Benedict Kiely opened it as a museum in June 1982. It houses the poet's works and artefacts from World War I, alongside memorabilia of the period. Its millennium exhibition portrays the poet's life in picture and text from his birth in the cottage to his death at the third battle of Ypres, Belgium, in July 1917. The museum is run by a small but dedicated group of Ledwidge enthusiasts who take pride in the writing of the poet and the restoration and upkeep of his birthplace.

Listen to some wonderful audio on Francis Ledwidge Museum - part of the Boyne Valley Drive:

Fact

That Francis Ledwidge is somethimes known as the "poet of the blackbirds" relating to a poignant elegie ‘To One Dead` written for his lost love Ellie.