A POIGNANT poem from beyond the grave by Dr Áine Downey, has been included in a collection of her writings.
Dr Downey was one of the only native Irish speakers to grow up in 1940s unionist east Belfast.
A retired university lecturer, she was born in Fintown in Co Donegal but grew up in Clara Street in east Belfast after her father, Richard Morton was appointed teacher at St Malachy's Christian Brothers' PS.
Native Irish speakers, the family continued to use the language in their everyday lives in the unionist heartland.
Dr Downey died unexpectedly in May this year at the age of 77.
In tribute to their mother and as a Christmas present last year, Dr Downey's sons, former Irish News journalist Garbhán and his brother, Cormac collected her writings and wrote and published a memoir of her life in a limited-edition book called The Mortons Who Speak Irish.
In an updated and greatly expanded edition published last week, the brothers have included more writings by Dr Downey as well as poetry by her friend, Fionnuala Geary. While gathering their mother’s outstanding work for the new book, Dr Downey’s sons stumbled on a particularly emotional poem - Meditation.
They said: "Typical of Áine’s foresight, she had even written her own epitaph. We were just about to send the book to the printers and decided to do one last trawl through her home. Sure enough, we recovered a little batch of papers from the back of a cupboard and in them was a short undated poem called Meditation, which we now believe she wrote for her headstone."
In Meditation, Dr Downey leaves a lasting message to her sons, family and friends.
::
"Cover me with soft earth,
and with every shovelful
throw in a handful of lily, jasmine
and wild rose seeds,
that they might grow over my grave
diffusing in the air
the fragrance of my heart
and as they blow with the breeze
may they remind passers-by
of my dreams and aspirations.
Return to your homes
and you will discover there
what death cannot steal
from me or from you.
Grá
Áine"
