My mother’s home a stable
She didn’t like me to say
The poverty of her childhood
Down Bangor Erris way
Whereas I was born in splendour
An English country house
Adopted as a hospital
While the world played cat and mouse
And Jesus in a stable
Shared my mother’s tale
A lowly place with animals
Shelter from the gale
And growing up in Erris
My mammy’s life was wealth
Food upon the table
Family and good health
That wealth she brought to England
She poured it in our hearts
We were the richest children
From the humblest of starts
Life will happen to us all
Our best laid schemes awry
But love born in a stable
Will help us reach the sky
Brian Fahy
25 December 2021
+ My mammy’s home in Glencullen was a building shared with cows, a wall partitioning the human dwelling from the animals. As a boy growing up I felt immense pride at such humble origins while my mother felt it was something best not told to others. The children born into that humble house went out into the world and made great lives.
Erris Poetry 