OK


It is titled : "My Darling County Clare"



MY DARLING COUNTY CLARE

Farewell, my lovely Erin, I must bid thee now farewell,
the grief I feel at parting thee no other tongue can tell,
no land shall win my heart from thee,
though poor thou art and bare.
For thee I'll pray, when far away,
My Darling County Clare.

No more i'll see thy verdant hills,
and skies of azure blue.
The vigil (or the wifal) birds sore "accessing" o'er the lake
or hear wolf dosg hoo
The trees which oft I've sat beneath are leafless now and bare
Since I must leave my native place,
My Darling County Clare.

The __ _ _ seas,
why do we grieve
where we are paid for going,
But payment ne'er could ease the hearts of dying parents
__ the workhouse __paupers grave they both shall shortly share
Since I must leave ny native home,
My Darling County Clare.

My parents grieve in ___(sick call?)
And my loving wife close crying
My little childrens (scream?) delayed saying
Father tell us why are you going to leave us here behind
we are hungry, cold and bare.
Oh Father stay-don't go away
from your Darling County Clare.

Farewell Green Land
The sails are set and _____ in the wind,
My heart is fraught with ____________
I have this at leaving ___ behind,
but I must seek employment ___ _____ __ stare____
with ghastly looks on the _____forever
Of My relatives in Clare.

I am glad you wanted it and sorry that I cannot decipher some of it - This book is hand written - anad these pages are from 1884. The ink is faded and at some point someone covered the pages with small pieces of a calendar - the year is not on the pages - but at the top it states the number of days gone by and the number of days to come and at the bottom are quotes from Shakespearean plays.We have carefully scraped( with fingernails!) sections of the calendars away to be able to read the writing beneath.

I wonder if this was a poem or song from the time - or could he have written it?

If you know anything about it - or find out anything, will you post it here?

Thanks Joe -

Helen Rowley - in Schenectady, NY, USA