Under Ben Bulben - VI
William Butler Yeats
VI
Under bare Ben Bulben's head
In Drumcliff churchyard Yeats is laid.
An ancestor was rector there
Long years ago, a church stands near,
By the road an ancient cross.
No marble, no conventional phrase;
On limestone quarried near the spot
By his command these words are cut:
Cast a cold eye
On life, on death.
Horseman, pass by!
Drumcliff has a round stone tower dating from the 10th century and a famous Celtic high cross from about the 9th century. The village is probably most famous now as being the last resting place of William Butler Yeats.
Yeats is buried in the churchyard of St Columba's Church. He died in Roquebrune-Cap Martin on the Riviera, but his remains were brought to Ireland in 1948.
The Bare outcrop of Ben Bulben does indeed loom over the village.
