From Their Old Homes In Duhallow Poem by Francis Duggan

From Townlands, Towns and Villages they left they had their dreams to follow
And some live near and some live far from their old homes in Duhallow
Some never even did return and old ties they did sever
Never to see their old homes again they rest elsewhere forever,
They never did return again to see the swallows flying
Above the old fields in the Spring and hear baby birds crying
In their nests in the hedgerows of May to their parents for food pleading
In the hedge their descendants cry for food today it follows in the breeding
Beyond the sea and far away the robin he is singing
And skylark at the dawn of day up to the clouds is winging
To sing his songs above the hill cloaked with bracken and heather
And wildflowers bloom in the old fields in Spring and Summer weather
And the cuckoo calling in the wood and home again the swallow
But the migrants they are living far from their old homes in Duhallow.