Here's my attempt at a transcription from Noreen O'Connor's singing on YouTube. I hope others will fill in the gaps. (By the way, that video, although it's hard to understand, does a nice job of capturing the atmosphere of a celebration at an Irish pub in North London.)

The tune is nearly the same as "Rosin the Beau."


THIS STORY I TELL YOU IS TRUE

1. Come stroll for a while through my mem'ry,
And I'll tell you of time long ago,
When we walked to school summer and winter,
Barefoot through the fields we would go.
I remember our little thatched cottage,
And the half-door led into the hall,
The crane(?) o'er the fire in the kitchen,
And the grandfather clock on the wall.

CHORUS: The stout(?) it was cured with a poker,
And poteen they said cured the flu.
The bacon it hung from the ceiling.
Sure, the story I tell you is true.

2. We went in the trap(?)... last Sunday
And granddad he'd wear his best hat
When the priest he would reserve(?) from the altar
And the women in diff'rent seats sat.
Matchmakin' was part of tradition,
And the ... house filled up at night
When the tailor would tell the ghost stories,
Oh, the children would shiver with fright.

3. I remember the sound of the anthem(?)
And the burning hearth smoke(?) we would smell
When we passed ... in the evenin'
With water we fetched from the well.
We ... the cows before milkin'
Tied the ... to the ...
... color ... and rhymes
And the harvest ....

4. ... fair at ...
With ... with delight.
When the wheelin' and dealin' was over,
Ev'ryone waited round for the fight.
Now I hope that in telling this story,
I haven't detained you too long;
But there is so much more I can tell you
Someday in some other song. CHORUS

[Also sung by Annemarie O Riordan on "Melody in Harmony"; T R Dallas on "This Story I Tell You Is True"; and P J Murrihy on "I Won't Up The Ante".]