The Orchard Keeper

A chance encounter with an elderly man beside the orchard at Donaghmore was the catalyst which led Susan Connolly to explore the life of Francis Ledwidge in greater depth, and to write her sequence of poems, The Orchard Keeper. Francis Ledwidge enlisted in 1914, and survived until July 31st, 1917, the first day of the Third Battle of Ypres.