Barnacullen/Ballyglass
Lake © Tony Fallon.011817
The lake began in Barnacullen and ended in
Ballyglass
We often brought cattle to drink and Jim Menton’s ass
It was also situated in Rahara and Knockcroghery parish
And when it was going dry those were days we’d cherish
The lake was unusually shallow and the footing it was sound
It was only two or three feet deep and no one ever drowned
To have water for the ducks to swim the neighbors were blessed
And every year we could depend on two swans to build their nest
As the water, it receded leaving loads of fresh fish in pools
Few would be thinking of Rahara or Ballymurray schools
All would gather at the Lough and brag about their deeds
As they prepared to trap the pike by pushing all the weeds
You’d see rolled up trousers and legs not seen for years
And hear an odd word or two not fit for children’s ears
As we pushed weeds across the pool someone would act the ape
Because someone else was lagging and a big pike did escape.
With the footing, slippery someone would fall in the muck
And then you’d hear words that rhymed along with luck
Many pike were fried for breakfast and many more for dinners
Especially on Fridays for us Catholics then we were not sinners
We caught some fine big pike there too by rod and reel
And one time when it was going dry by hand I caught an eel
In all my days in Barnacullen not one person ever owned a boat
But Malachy Fallon and the Higgins’s had rushes that could float
I often got fishing advice from the one and only Mrs. Malick
The last of us Fallon’s to fish there was my younger brother Alick
While I was in New York in America they dug a long deep dike
And now there’s no water or swans and there’s definitely no pike
On long winter’s evenings and nights, there is quietness and peace
For there is no one out on the lake shooting wild duck and geese.
So now they’ve drained the lake and fooled with Mother Nature
Who for so long gave water for the stock a thoughtful loving creature
My recent visit to Ballglass was rather sad and short and brief
For instead of fish and ducks and geese now there’s only future beef
I’m afraid ‘tis ourselves and future generations we may be codding
For while it’s dry in Ballyglass, in Ballagh there is awful flooding
No more shall we see Ballyglass Lake shimmer in the light of the moon
For it's as barren and lifeless now in the winter as it is in May and June
We often brought cattle to drink and Jim Menton’s ass
It was also situated in Rahara and Knockcroghery parish
And when it was going dry those were days we’d cherish
The lake was unusually shallow and the footing it was sound
It was only two or three feet deep and no one ever drowned
To have water for the ducks to swim the neighbors were blessed
And every year we could depend on two swans to build their nest
As the water, it receded leaving loads of fresh fish in pools
Few would be thinking of Rahara or Ballymurray schools
All would gather at the Lough and brag about their deeds
As they prepared to trap the pike by pushing all the weeds
You’d see rolled up trousers and legs not seen for years
And hear an odd word or two not fit for children’s ears
As we pushed weeds across the pool someone would act the ape
Because someone else was lagging and a big pike did escape.
With the footing, slippery someone would fall in the muck
And then you’d hear words that rhymed along with luck
Many pike were fried for breakfast and many more for dinners
Especially on Fridays for us Catholics then we were not sinners
We caught some fine big pike there too by rod and reel
And one time when it was going dry by hand I caught an eel
In all my days in Barnacullen not one person ever owned a boat
But Malachy Fallon and the Higgins’s had rushes that could float
I often got fishing advice from the one and only Mrs. Malick
The last of us Fallon’s to fish there was my younger brother Alick
While I was in New York in America they dug a long deep dike
And now there’s no water or swans and there’s definitely no pike
On long winter’s evenings and nights, there is quietness and peace
For there is no one out on the lake shooting wild duck and geese.
So now they’ve drained the lake and fooled with Mother Nature
Who for so long gave water for the stock a thoughtful loving creature
My recent visit to Ballglass was rather sad and short and brief
For instead of fish and ducks and geese now there’s only future beef
I’m afraid ‘tis ourselves and future generations we may be codding
For while it’s dry in Ballyglass, in Ballagh there is awful flooding
No more shall we see Ballyglass Lake shimmer in the light of the moon
For it's as barren and lifeless now in the winter as it is in May and June
No comments:
Post a Comment