"September 1913" is an elegiac poem mourning the sacrifices of individuals who fought for Ireland's sovereignty at the turn of the twentieth century, and, more broadly, mourning a hope and patriotism that have, according to the speaker, died away. The poem begins by addressing the reader in the second person, asking what they could possibly need, beyond desperately praying and fumbling for spare change until death. After all, the speaker says, human beings were born for these two things—saving money and praying. "Romantic Ireland," a realm that seems to exist beyond merely money and prayer, is dead. The speaker compares Romantic Ireland to someone called "O'Leary," saying that both are in the grave, dead and buried. (O'Leary refers to John O'Leary, a friend of W.B. Yeats as well as an Irish freedom fighter and independence activist.) In other words, O'Leary represented the spirit of that Romantic Ireland, daring to think beyond simply money and religion—but now that he is dead, the dream of this Ireland is dead too.
In the past, the speaker asserts, the names of certain people (including, it is suggested, O'Leary) had an almost magical power, even causing children to put a stop to their play. These names were transmitted around the world, attaining an almost legendary status. In fact, they were so busy, presumably fighting for Ireland, that they hardly had time to pray—in fact, they didn't even have time to utter a prayer before the threat of execution. But in retrospect, the speaker wonders whether these fighters ever had a realistic prospect of saving anything at all. In any case, the speaker asserts, Romantic Ireland is now dead and buried with O'Leary.
In the third stanza, the speaker's lament becomes stronger. Observing the current state of affairs, the speaker asks in a disbelieving tone whether Ireland's current situation was truly worth so much bloodshed and sacrifice. He names specific people who have died as a result of this sacrifice: not only O'Leary, but also Edward Fitzgerald, Robert Emmet, and Wolfe Tone. Fitzgerald, Emmet, and Tone were all part of an unsuccessful 1798 uprising against British rule in Ireland, and all died (directly or indirectly) at the hands of the British. The speaker also refers to "wild geese," alluding to the historical event known as the "Flight of the Wild Geese." These metaphorical wild geese were Irish Catholic armies sent into exile in the 17th century. Thus, Yeats refers to the exile and sacrifice not only of his contemporaries and immediate predecessors, but also those of long-ago figures in Irish history. He then repeats the poem's refrain: "Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone,/It’s with O’Leary in the grave."
The speaker imagines what his contemporaries in Ireland would say, if they were able to reverse time and offer consolation to these revered but suffering freedom fighters. He imagines that most modern Irish citizens would dismiss men like Fitzgerald, Emmet, Tone, and the "wild geese," framing their ideals as irrational. Indeed, the speaker says, his contemporaries in Ireland would claim that these men had been driven mad by female beauty—a "woman's yellow hair"—rather than motivated for legitimate reasons. These exiles, the speaker said, hardly considered their sacrifices, and weighed them "lightly." But now, he argues, those sacrifices have been wasted, and the fight is over. These fighters should be left in peace, since they are buried with O'Leary in the grave.
