Lost Sanctuary and Other Poems
John Irvine (1903-1965)
The Quota Press
Belfast
1954
This volume will mark the sixth I have read by Irvine. I sort of stumbled upon this author. I was reading one of the Vision Books for young readers, Irish Saints by Robert T. Reilly, and there was an excerpt of a poem from A Treasury of Irish Saints A Book of Poems. It was really intriguing and after reading that first volume I made it a mission to try and track down everything Irvine published. At first my dyslexia had me thinking it was John Irving, and I have read a few of his fiction books. But some quick searching put that idea to rest. This author John Irvine lived from 1903-1965. This volume was originally published in1954.
About the author on a site with information about Irish authors states:
“John Irvine was born in Belfast and published several collections of poems: A Voice in the Dark, 1932; Willow Leaves: Lyrics in the Manner of the Early Chinese Poets,1941; Lost Sanctuary and other poems among others. He edited The Flowering Branch: An Anthology of Irish Poetry Past and Present.”
Another online description of the author states:
“Irvine, born in Belfast, published about six collections of lyrics between 1932 and 1954, mostly from small presses in Belfast and Dublin. He also edited an anthology of Irish poetry, The Flowering Branch.”
This book begins with a dedication to DR. W. L. Smoldon and then a quote:
“A boy I can remember used to sing
All the long summer days: but now the songs,
The very songs he sang are all forgotten.
The voice has fled the singer: all are fled.”
The poems in this volume are:
Lost Sanctuary
Forrest Reid
A Love Song
Foffany
Cargan
A Rathlin Cradle Song
Doochary
Kinvarra
Vale
On Fintragh Strand
Requiescat
Armour Of Ballymoney
Mangan
The Mountain Farmer
April
May Morning
Hawthorn
The Rookery
Harvest Evening
By The Sea
Remembrance Of Things Past
Dante In Exile
The Tomb Of Dante
Venetian Rhapsody
A Candle To St. Anthony
Fountains
The Protestant Cemetery: Rome
The Spanish Cafe
The Tomb Of Henry Murger
Song Of The Homing Birds
The Minstrel's Song
Song Of The Poets Of Ancient Time
I enjoyed this sixth collection of poems that I have read from the pen of Irvine. It is another volume I could easily see myself returning to. The one bio above mentions 6 collections of poems but I have found 9 listed below, 3 other works, also 6 volumes Irvine edited of other poems. And a note further down indicates another previously unaccounted for volume edited by Irvine. A few sample poems from this volume are:
LOST SANCTUARY
The house, a relic of the gracious past,
Built in the days of elegance and ease
Amid the greenery of the countryside,
Before the little farmsteads one by one
Were swallowed by the ever growing town;
The mellowed bricks are now a heap of dust,
The stables crumbling to a vast machine,
And all the feathered clans that used to come
Year after year and fill the day with song
Have vanished now-and never will return.
The ugly monsters lacerate the earth,
The steel and concrete rises, tier on tier,
Until the mighty building is complete
With towers and chimney strainings to the sky:
But no green thing will ever live again
Within these confines, or the birds make glad
The changing hours of the April day.
And I who loved this quiet and, pleasant place,
This hidden sanctuary of flower and leaf,
Shall mourn for it among the lovely things
Now wistfully remembered that are gone.
REQUIESCAT
"When they have done with me, do not leave my body
in this dreadful place. Take me back to Murlough and
let my bones lie there." -Roger Casement.
Here in majestic Murlough let him lie
Beneath the Antrim earth, the Irish sky,
Among his kindred lay his ashes deep
That he may rest again, that he may sleep
Far from the high grim walls where he was slain,
The cold and alien earth where he hath lain,
And gently lay him where he longed to be
In his own green hills, by his own grey sea.
MAY MORNING
Beyond my window
This sun-filled morning
The breath of lilac
The thrush in song:
What joy to waken
And see the brightness
That fills the valley
The whole day long!
Within my heart now
A song of gladness.
No shadow darkens
The golden day
Afar to wander
The wild woods yonder
And so recapture
The dreams of May!
I hope those three poems give you a feel for the collection. The poems vary from one stanza to several, but all poems are contained on single page or a two page spread. I read a few of them a couple of times before moving on. One of them I must have read a dozen times. It is an moving collection to work through on a cold winter evening, over a large mug of tea. Many of the poems indicate location of composition, Rome, Padua, Malone … and a few has dedications to persons or to initials.
I was able to track down a copy of this thanks to the National Library of Ireland. The NLI has all volumes I have found written by Irvine and 5 of the 8 edited by him. I am now trying to hunt them all down. These poems were very enjoyable, and I am certain they would be to you as well, if you give them a chance. We are also informed 6 of the poems in this volume are reprinted with permission.
If you can track down a copy to read it is well worth it! Another great collection of poems I can easily recommend it.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2026 Catholic Reading Plan!
Books by John Irvine:
A Voice in the Dusk Lyrics
By Winding Roads
Fountain Of Hellas: Poems From The Greek Anthology
Nocturne: Poems
Sic Transit Gloria Mundi
The Quiet Stream
Two Poems
Voces Intimae
Willow Leaves: Lyrics in the Manner of the Early Chinese Poets
…
Edited by John Irvine:
A Christmas Garland - as J. Pennington Irvine
The Flowering Branch: An Anthology of Irish Poetry Past and Present
The Poems of Robert Burns
The Poems of Robert Louis Stevenson
The Poems of Tennyson
The Poems of Thomas Moore
…
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