Charlotte Schreiber

The Croppy Boy (The Confession of an Irish Patriot)

1879
The youth has knelt to tell his sins / Nomine Dei! the youth begins, / At the Siege of Ross, did my Father fall / and at Gorey my loving brothers all / I, alone, am left of my name and race / I will go to Wexford to take their place. / Now, Father, bless me before I go / To die, if God has ordained it so. / The Priest said naught, but a rustling noise / Made the youth look up in wild surprise; / The robes were off, and in scarlet there / Sat a yeoman captain with fiery glare; / With fiery glare, and with fury hoarse / Instead of blessing he breathed a curse / T'was a good thought boy to come here and shrive / For one short hour is your time to live. - Ballad of the time of the Irish rebellion
Title
The Croppy Boy (The Confession of an Irish Patriot)
Date
1879
Medium
Painting
Materials
oil on canvas
Dimensions
91.6 x 76.2 cm
Nationality
Canadian
Credit line
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts diploma work, deposited by the artist, Toronto, 1880
Accession number
118