Ireland of my childhood
Was a land of yesterday
Where my mammy came from
Where we spent holiday
Where people left in thousands
And never did come home
Where songs of lonesomeness were sung
Where Tom Mac wrote the poem
A place of moor and mountain
West coast wilderness
Of boxty and potatoes
And family tenderness
Where everything was slow lane
Sit down now take your time
A world away from Lancashire
From coal dust and from grime
It was a magic wonderland
Of cows and hens and stream
Of lively loving cousins
Better than any dream
My wealth and my inheritance
Stayed with me through my days
That Ireland may have gone now
But in my heart it stays
Brian Fahy
6 April 2022
+ Growing up in Lancashire and spending all my summers in Erris, County Mayo, is wealth beyond riches. My whole life is founded on the joy of my childhood days.
The poem/song referred to is ‘Down by Glencullen Side’. I found a recording of this song yesterday on YouTube by Tommy Maloney. It was written by Thomas McManamin, the poet, who lived beside the bridge in Glencullen. I am told that my uncle, John Carey, might also have contributed to the song.
Erris Poetry 