Pierce Ferriter: Dia daoibh!
John Johnson: So lets get started with saying your poetry is nothing like no others because of the topics that you speak on.
Pierce Ferriter: Thank you
John Johnson: You welcome. But not only do you write poetry, you are also renowned for your musical skills. Am I right?
Pierce Ferriter: Yes, you are correct. I play the harp as well as I write poetry. I am known to be "the gentleman harpist". I have been playing the harp ever since I was younger. Playing the harp isn't something that I wanted to make a career out of. It was just a hobby, you can say, of mine that I enjoyed doing.
John Johnson: Interesting but what's more interesting is that you were an officer in war. Tell me about that. What helped you build the courage to become an officer in a very dangerous war?
Pierce Ferriter: Well, at first I was just a leader of the local citizens in support of the English Crown. I enjoyed the feeling of being the "captain of my ship", if you know what I mean, so I aligned myself with the anti-English forces and brought my men to join the siege of Tralee in 1941.
John Johnson: You are also a lord, correct?
Pierce Ferriter: Yes, I'm a Norman- Irish lord of Baile an Fheirtearaigh in Corca Dhuibhne. Baile an Fheirtearaigh is just the Irish way of say Ferriter's town land.
John Johnson: Why do you believe that you have such a great representation in Ireland?
Pierce Ferriter: I think it's mainly because of my poetry. My poetry attract people because it's "different". I speak on things that others may say is "to real for the world" but a lot people appreciate realistic poetry.
John Johnson: That's true but not everybody loved you and your poetry. You were captured and was made a prisoner. How did you feel during that situation?
Pierce Ferriter: I was expecting the worst because I became a prisoner because of an unsuccessful situation so I knew that it wasn't going to go well for me. So many bad things were happening at that time that there was no way to get myself out of that situation.
John Johnson: I understand but your father was a good man. Many young boys dreamed to be just like their father when they grow up but you took a different route. Why is that?
Pierce Ferriter: My father was a landowner whose lands were on the far western part of the Dingle Peninsula. The land was the Feiritear family's homestead for many years but just being a landowner wasn't good enough for me. I wanted to be known for something great.
John Johnson: Well you heard here first that Pierce Ferriter likes to set his own bars for himself. Thank you so much, Mr. Ferriter, for coming today. We hope to hear more from you later on.
Pierce Ferriter: You're welcome! And hopefully you will.
Sources
http://ferriterfamily.com/heritage/pierce_ferriter_our_great_patron/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piaras_Feirit%C3%A9ar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballyferriter
http://www.chooseireland.com/kerry/ferriters-castle/
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