Tyranny of Landlords and Penal Laws,
Drove our people from home, abroad.
O’Briens and Murphys,O’Neills, Mc’Quaids,
Maguires, O’Sullivans , the Celtic Race.
Late eighteen hundred, they left their homes
In Coffin ships to distant shores,
Some landed in the U.S.A
And built their homes with pride and dare.
From New York fair to San Francisco,
From Seattle to New Orleans,
Those Irishmen built railroads, canals
But as soldiers, the best e’er seen.
Who signed the Declaration?,
Offspring from the Emerald Isle,
Who founded the American Navy
John Barry a Wexford guy.
How many American Presidents
Have blood from our Celtic Race,
They have kept their thoughts of Motherland,
Back to Irish homes can trace.
The White House designed by Hoban,
Was honoured, his face on a stamp,
He hailed from “the Marble City”,
Kilkenny, a city with class
But last, but by no means least,
The best wine’s left till last,
They brought their culture and Catholic faith
From the hearths and homes to last.
Forever in the land of hope,
The great old U.S.A.
Much loved by Gaels, at home and abroad,
God rest all who left Queenstown bay.
Copyright Máiréad Tuohy Duffy (C)2002