By Gary Berton
Arthur O’Connor, although he inherited an estate and was a member of the Irish Parliament, was an advocate for women’s rights, supported emancipation of Catholics although a Protestant, and independence from England. When he joined the United Irishmen fighting the British occupation of Ireland, he was arrested.
On his way to prison, he wrote a poem in code. To decipher what he was really saying, here is the code: Take the first line of the first verse, and next the first line of the second verse, the second line of the first verse and then the second line of the second verse, and so alternatively.
“The pomp of courts and pride of kings,
I prize above all earthly things,
I love my country but my king
Above all men his praise I sing;
The royal banners are display’d,
And my success the standard aid.
“I fain would banish far from hence,
The Rights of Man and Common Sense;
Confusion to his odious reign,
That foe to princes, Thomas Paine!
Defeat and ruin seize the cause
Of Ireland, its liberties and laws.”