A hundred bodies floating in the sea
The sea too rough for rescue
Inishkea
Some make it to the shore
Received most reverently
Lost at sea
The Arandora Star
The man who sank that ship
Gunther Prien
Also died at sea
Off Ireland’s coast
Depth charged to his doom
Death comes far too soon
An end to U-Boat cries
And Hitler’s boast
Meanwhile bodies floating in to land
Are laid to rest on Ireland’s western strand
The Erris coast a body every mile
Most have no name
‘Unknown’ goes on the file
But all have names
And names are written down
On proud memorials
And in a loved one’s heart
And the words of Jesus
Are spoken again today
I shall raise him up
On the last day
Brian Fahy
4 May 2022
+ Great articles on this subject and many more can be found at MAYO.ME, a website of Anthony Hickey, writer and photographer.
The west coast of Ireland receives not only flotsam and jetsam from the sea, but also many bodies from boats lost at sea, especially during the Second World War.
Erris Poetry 