Leaving Certificate Ordinary Level – Excellence in English Language and Literature
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This poem would fi t well in a collection about the relationship between a parent and child or about death.
Although the poet is an adult woman, in the fi nal lines of the poem she is ‘a dark-haired child’ writing about the perfect, ‘dark-haired hero’ that is her abiding memory of her father. No matter how old she grows and no matter how long her father has been dead, she will always be his little girl. The importance of his role in her life is clear, as she feels his presence in all that is peaceful, beautiful and comforting. He is the ‘scent/of pipe smoke’, the ‘light/and shade on the river’ and ‘silence,/places of calm’.
1. Choose two images from the poem that particularly appeal to you. Explain your choice with reference to the poem.
2. The title of this poem is ‘My Father, Long Dead’. If you were to choose a different title for this poem, what would it be? Explain your answer with reference to the poem.
3. Do you think this is a happy or a sad poem or a mixture of both? Support your answer with reference to the poem.
4. Do you admire Eileen Sheehan’s use of language in the poem? Explain your answer with reference to the poem.
