William Drennan

William Drennan (23 May 1754 – 5 February 1820) was an Irish physician and writer who moved the formation in Belfast and Dublin of the Society of United Irishmen.

• When Erin first rose from the dark-swelling flood,
  God blessed the green island, he saw it was good.
  The Emerald of Europe, it sparkled and shone
  In the ring of this world, the most precious stone.
  • Erin (1795), st. 1

• Arm of Erin, prove strong, but be gentle as brave,
  And, uplifted to strike, still be ready to save;
  Nor one feeling of vengeance presume to defile
  The cause or the men of the Emerald Isle.
  • Erin (1795), st. 5

• Men of Erin! awake, and make haste to be blest!
  Rise! arch of the ocean, and queen of the West!
  • Erin (1795), st. 6
  • Notes and Queries, ser. 2, vol. 9 (17 March 1860), p. 199

• Hapless nation, hapless land,
  Heap of uncementing sand!
  Crumbled by a foreign weight,
  Or by worse, domestic hate!
  • The Wake of William Orr (1797), st. 7
  • Fugitive Pieces, in Verse and Prose (1815), p. 80

• Pure, just, benign; thus filial love would trace
  The virtues hallowing this narrow space;
  The Emerald Isle may grant a wider claim,
  And link the Patriot with his country's name.
  • Inscription on his tomb, New Burying Ground, Belfast
  • George Benn, A History of the Town of Belfast (1877), p. 520