My Rosses Point Life

by Paddy Bruen

Valleys green and waters blue,
Rippling rivers and foggy dew,
Sunsets, dawnings,
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter too,
Stormy seas and mountain hues,
On all these things I often muse,
At Rosses Point they all infuse.

Skylark, Lapwing, Squawking Gulls,
Water lapping, shining hulls,
Herring, Mackerel, Salmon, Trout,
Rabbit, Hare, a bottle of stout,
Dead Man's Point, the Elsinore,
The Cellars, the South Shore

Aughris and Maugherow,
The two islands on our starboard bow,
Lucan and Dolly's Brae
Gregg and Grange, with Yeat's grave,
Watch House and Bornis Aird,
Ben Bulben and the Cairn of Maeve

The Blennick, Coney Island Pier,
Mal Na Scuddan, St Patrick's Chair,
Metal Man, The Bungar Buoy,
The Wheaten Rock and old Pooldoy,
Blackrock Lights, deep water berths,
Wren Point, the Croppy Boy.

The Harp that once. Kevin, Mountjoy,
A dream of freedom on foreign soil,
To run before it on the boil.
Periwinkles, Cockles, Oysters,
Mussels, Lobster, Slough,
Carrigeen Moss, a game of golf.

The Balmarina, Tartar and Dreadnought,
Nancy Lee, MacArthur's boat,
Mary Agg and Francy Feeney,
La La's Gap and Mary Heeney,
Frozen hands, a warm embrace,
Steel blue eyes, a happy face,
Old Gee's house and Tommy Latty,
Undine Cottage, Lily, Shamrock, Cutty Sark & Thermopolayes.

Lambing sheep, playing cards,
Cornboats and Ormsby's yard,
Buses blue and buses red,
Beesie Dwyer, a feather bed
Regattas and Greasy pole,
Mulattos and Pirates gold.

Bowmore Races, a singing jug,
Lower Rosses, a deep sea tug.
Bosun, Pilot, Hoodler, Wow,
S.O. 452 upon a prow.
Lugger, Lighter, Peggy's leg,
Banshees, Bridog, Old Poolbeg.

Rock, Long and Martin Bruen,
Maurteen Rosha, Cecil Ewing
Dooney Rock the Sands of Dee,
Rolling home fair land to thee.
Butler Yeats and Doctor Shea,
Here we go gathering nuts in May.

Fawdie, Topsie, Daughter, Foc,
Cumshaw, White Nigger and Talloo.
Maggie Dundalk, down, the road for a walk,
the man and a half, and Higgins calf.
Melodians and Peg McGowan
Milk and Petey Joe Gillen.

Paddy Curley, Dog and Gun,
The Greenlands, good clean fun.
Kenny, Vallee, Bolshen head,
Tighe and MacArthurs bread,
The Butcher's driver with a gammy leg,
Auntie Biddy, Martha, Rosie, Peg.

Sand in my ears, in my hair, in my shoes,
Feis Sligigh, Feis Ceoil,
First Holy, Bundoran, to win, to lose.
Storm with her rings round the moon,
Swimming to Oyster in the middle of June.
The lowing of cattle, the crank of a crane,
Picking the blackberries down Dolly's Lane.

Moyeen Haran, Mary Ellen,
Pat and Matt, the blessed cat.
The Shee Gaoth & Shru Na Moile,
Hunters house, an Australian Sheelagh.
Troubled times, the Coast Guard station,
Madam Gonne, the pride of her Nation.
Poaching trout, sucking raw eggs, or blowing them out.

Little Lensessems, The Jocelyn Gore Booths,
Maggie the Man, the broth of a boy,
An apple and orange, a cheap Christmas toy.
The sweet smell of grass, the neigh of an Ass.
The toll of the bells both of Church and Bell Boy.

Tales we were told and plays we enjoyed,
East Lynn, the Cuckoo Clock,
Finnegan's Wake, A Crowning cock.
the Deuce of spades, of Hearts the Five,
Jack Flood's house, a jack-knife dive.

A reef of sails, a head of steam
Haulbowline Island dead abeam.
Rustling top sails and main Royal,
Customs & Excise, Mr. Doyle.
Stale bottles of stout for Josheen Haren,
The new hotel and rank O'Byrne.

The paper shop and Johnty Boyers,
Argue & Phibbs the Sligo Lawyers.
Sheep shanks and Mares tails,
Basking sharks and sperm whales.
Devil fish and Angel cake,
John Dory's and a box of hake.

Johnny Conway, Paddy Carroll,
Bon Fire night, the old tar barrel.
Monkey nuts and Halloween,
Barn Brack an apples green,
Savoy, Gaiety, Gilhooley Hall,
Chase the slipper, the Hunt Ball.

Ivor and his baby Ford,
Mort D'Arthur and his famous sword,
Drumcliffe Pilots and Lough Gill,
Ballisodare Bay, Cooloney Mill,
Middletons and Joe Dargans,
Red skies at night, Sailors warnings.

Heaped up sods beside the fire,
Hooping with the Lancia's tyre,
Minnie Moffatt, Birdie Dwyer,
singing in the local choir
Mizzlin rain, the school cane,
The Avenue gates, Maggie Boffin.

Lily piano, Rock violin,
Sea shanties, ebb tide flowing,
Listen to the long grass growing.
Ear ache, olive oil,
Pinky Lobsters on the boil
Watching farmers sowing seeds,
Feeding canaries on chick weed.

Two Uncle Pats an Auntie May,
the Siege of Ennis and Botany Bay.
The Blarney Roses, the smell of putty,
Aggie Gillen, her brother Footie
The summer visitors with the lovely legs,
Ninnie Gorman selling pegs.

Alex Doherty and John McCourt,
Tag McLoughlin's for a drop of port.
Licensed Victuallers and Redmond John,
Master Mofatt, the O'Connor "Don"
The Yat, Kathleen, Peter and Martin,
Coming home and departing.

Breaking the ice in rain water barrel,
Smoking my first P J Carroll.
Roller skating, my first date,
Codling, digging bait,
Rowlocks, Oilskins, sea boots too,
Innishmurray and the mountain dew.

January perch,
A tragic search,
Six men were drowned,
We all mourned.