Inside the Main Gate of Dublin's National Botanic Garden there is a rose bush. Protectively ensconced inside a railed circular fence. Protecting this special bush from visitors who may want to snag a bloom. It's said to have been cultivated from an original forbear which was the inspiration for Thomas Moore's song "The Last Rose of Summer".
The Last Rose of Summer at the National Botanic Gradens in Dublin
Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), often referred to as the Bard of Ireland, had visited the gardens of Jenkinstown Castle in Kilkenny and saw a late, long blooming rose. The pink flowers, or likely singular remaining flower, stirred the bard and yielded the romantic wistful lyrics and melody that are still recorded 200 years later by both traditional and classical soloists. It seems that an enterprising member of the Botanics realized the virtue of having this rose would be attractive to visitors and must have sought out the bush at Jenkinstown and taken a cutting. An early example of Irish 19th century promotion perhaps?
As the story goes Dad was called upon by folks in the Botanics to rescue this bush. Cultivated roses, do not have a very long life and so periodically have to repropagated every 10 to 20 years. So when the time came to replace the deteriorating bush in the Botanics, Dad's rose growing reputation resulted in a request for assistance. Whether this rose is an actual genetic, lineal descendent of the original spotted by Thomas Moore, is a matter for conjecture.
Dublin Recording Artist Rosa Nutty
Whatever the case it yielded a beautiful song which I'm delighted that my niece, Rosa Nutty agreed to record a cappella in memory of her Grandad. This beautiful rendition is debuted in the brand new episode of The Nutty Chronicles. I'm MORE than proud and honored to showcase this beautiful rendition. Rosa is exceptionally talented and it's quite easy to see why she is one of Dublin's rising talents.
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