School: Mercy Convent

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1. Local Song - Drainage of the River Erne (continued)

   

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   V
   Our engineers, gangers and foremen,
   From the South and the West they were all;
   Our foreman - the one man from Ulster
   Was Butler from sweet Donegal.
   VI
   They picked a few clerks round Belturbet,
   Of whom I think "Neddo" was Star;
   A change from the bottles and glasses
   And standing behind the cold Bar.
   VII
   The groans and the roars of the dredgers,
   As they swung to and fro with a spoil;
   The hum of the pumps and compressors
   The workman all hard at their toil
   VIII
   Brought a picture of peace and contentment
   To the banks of the Erne's green shore,
   Although the wages were scanty,
   Just shillings a week -twenty-four.
   IX
   Quickly the work was extended
   Till each sleep valley and glen
   Re-echoed the sound of the country,
   The talk and the laughter of men.

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. genre
      1. poetry
         1. folk poetry (~9,504)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Brighd Ní Ghilla Phádraigh

   Gender

   Female