Barnfield

 

I drove one time to Barnfield

Just to see the house

To peer in through the windows

One last time

Aunty Mary had lived there

Died in ‘91

Mickey her son beside her

Ten years before he was gone

 

Summer days I spent there

As if it was my home

The breakfasts and the dinners

And days to rove and roam

And Brogans in the evening

With Mickey at the bar

And foaming pints of Guinnness

And home by the evening star

 

I stood and looked where mountains

Slieve Gamph Ox Mountains run

Across the fields towards Sligo

Glinting in the sun

I did not feel a sadness

No loneliness was there

Just grateful for my kin folk

I said a silent prayer

 

Brian Fahy

22 November 2021

 

+ Mary Walsh, nee Carey, Mammy’s eldest sister, (1903 – 1991) married Jackie Walsh and brought up a family of five in Barnfield, Knockmore, Ballina. Her home, always welcoming, was a holiday destination every year.