The Ballad of Father Gilligan

W. B. Yeatsfirst published 1892from The Rose48 lines

The old priest Peter GilliganWas weary night and day;For half his flock were in their beds,Or under green sods lay.

Once, while he nodded on a chair,At the moth-hour of eve,Another poor man sent for him,And he began to grieve.

“I have no rest, nor joy, nor peace,For people die and die”;And after cried he, “God forgive!My body spake, not I!”

He knelt, and leaning on the chairHe prayed and fell asleep;And the moth-hour went from the fields,And stars began to peep.

They slowly into millions grew,And leaves shook in the wind;And God covered the world with shade,And whispered to mankind.

Upon the time of sparrow chirpWhen the moths came once more,The old priest Peter GilliganStood upright on the floor.

“Mavrone, mavrone! the man has died,While I slept on the chair”;He roused his horse out of its sleep,And rode with little care.

He rode now as he never rode,By rocky lane and fen;The sick man’s wife opened the door:“Father! you come again!”

“And is the poor man dead?” he cried.“He died an hour ago,”The old priest Peter GilliganIn grief swayed to and fro.

“When you were gone, he turned and diedAs merry as a bird.”The old priest Peter GilliganHe knelt him at that word.

“He who hath made the night of starsFor souls, who tire and bleed,Sent one of His great angels downTo help me in my need.

“He who is wrapped in purple robes,With planets in His care,Had pity on the least of thingsAsleep upon a chair.”

Text: Poetry, by W. B. Yeats (Standard Ebooks, 2024), from the collected editions of 1908 to 1928. Public domain.

In brief

Summary

A weary priest falls asleep, and God sends an angel instead.

Old Father Peter Gilligan is worn out: half his parishioners are sick or dead. When yet another poor man sends for him one evening, he cries out that he has no rest, then begs God's forgiveness for complaining. He kneels to pray and falls asleep on his chair. When he wakes he rides in panic to the sick man's house, only to hear from the wife that he has been there already, and that the man died happily. Gilligan understands that God sent an angel in his place. The ballad ends in wonder that the God who rules the planets had pity on "the least of things", a tired old priest asleep upon a chair.

Lines to remember

The old priest Peter Gilligan

Had pity on the least of things

Asleep upon a chair.

Line by line

Lines 1 to 8A weary priest
Father Peter Gilligan is exhausted, for "half his flock" are sick in bed or "under green sods". Dozing "At the moth-hour of eve", he is sent for by yet another poor man, "And he began to grieve". The plain ballad language keeps the tragedy simple and close.
Lines 9 to 12Complaint and prayer
He cries out, "I have no rest, nor joy, nor peace", then at once takes it back with "God forgive!" and the plea "My body spake, not I!" It is a very human moment: a good man ashamed of his own tiredness.
Lines 13 to 20Sleep and night
He kneels to pray and falls asleep. The night passes in two gentle stanzas: the stars "peep" and grow "into millions", leaves shake in the wind, and God "covered the world with shade" and "whispered to mankind". The whole world seems to rest while the old man sleeps.
Lines 21 to 28Waking in panic
At "the time of sparrow chirp", with the moths out once more, he wakes and stands upright, sure "the man has died" while he slept. "Mavrone, mavrone!" is his cry of sorrow. He rouses his horse and rides "with little care" for himself.
Lines 29 to 36The ride
He rides "as he never rode" by rocky lane and fen. The sick man's wife greets him with surprise, "Father! you come again!", and the man is already dead, "an hour ago". Gilligan sways "to and fro" in grief, sure that he has failed.
Lines 37 to 40The truth
The wife explains that after his visit the man died "As merry as a bird". Gilligan understands at once that someone came in his place, and he kneels. The repeated line "The old priest Peter Gilligan" marks each stage of his story.
Lines 41 to 48A prayer of thanks
His prayer of thanks sets God's grandeur, maker of "the night of stars" and keeper of the planets, against his own smallness. God sent "one of His great angels" and "Had pity on the least of things", an old man "Asleep upon a chair".

Themes

God's pity

The poem's heart is the contrast between the vast and the small. God is "wrapped in purple robes", with planets in His care, yet He notices one tired priest. The miracle is quiet: no vision, only a message from a widow at the door. Grace comes not as a reward for effort but as pity for someone with nothing left to give.

Duty and exhaustion

Gilligan is a good priest worn down by his people's suffering. His outburst, "For people die and die", is true to his weariness, and he is instantly ashamed of it. The poem is gentle with him: it treats his tiredness as the body's fault, not the soul's, just as he claims, and God seems to agree.

Folk faith

The story has the simplicity of a country tale: a priest, a horse, a woman at the door, an angel nobody sees. The details are homely, "the moth-hour", "sparrow chirp", the chair. Belief here is part of everyday life, and heaven does its work in ordinary rooms.

Context

The ballad first appeared in book form in The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics (1892), among the lyrics Yeats later grouped as "The Rose". It is one of several early poems in the manner of the Irish country ballad, like "The Ballad of Father O'Hart" and "The Ballad of Moll Magee" in his earlier Crossways group, which draw on folk stories and folk faith.

Form

Twelve ballad quatrains, with lines of four and three beats alternating and the second and fourth lines rhyming ("day", "lay"). The line "The old priest Peter Gilligan" returns four times, like a refrain in a traditional song. The plain, steady rhythm suits a story meant to be told aloud.