In today's education system, there is no longer such an emphasis on learning by heart as there was in former times. Our parents could recite entire poems from beginning to end, word perfect, thereby enriching both their lives and their speech. This book looks at hos the emphasis has now changed from learning to experiencing poetry. Thomas Welsh draws upon his 25 years of experience in Irish classrooms to produce a collection of the most memorable, of the poems learned in school in Ireland long ago. The majority of the poems are by Irish poets, although there are a fair number of English and American poets included; the latter, however, have a distinct Irish flavour. All of the poems have one thing in common; they aim to stir a nostalgic chord.