On The Finnow Bridge At Drishane Poem by Francis Duggan

Just down from the river bridge at Drishane Finnow and Blackwater meet
And in the wood the magpie chatters in the flat fields of Millstreet
And the Autumn fade to Winter and the hill wear hat of snow
But green Spring will bring her flowers to Summer and the Seasons come and go.

On the Finnow bridge at Drishane on an evening in late Spring
I would sit above the river listening to the goldfinch sing
And the nesting rooks were cawing in the gloaming of the day
And I fancy that I still can hear them in those woodlands far away.

From the river bridge at Drishane when November skies were gray
I could see the freckled salmon side by side on spawning bed they lay
And the hungry rooks were cawing high upon the leafless trees
Many years since then departed but time doesn't dim the memories.

From the Finnow bridge at Drishane I first saw the brown haired maid
Sitting by the leafy beech tree in the coolness of the shade
She was singing I remember 'Where the Blarney roses grow'
On that day of golden sunshine almost forty years ago

From the Finnow bridge at Drishane on an evening in July
I would sit and watch the brown trout leaping up to catch the fly
And though time and tide doesn't wait for any and the years slip quietly by
In the soul of gray haired fellow there is still a fresh faced boy.

On the Finnow bridge at Drishane the young fellow sit and stare
As he take in the natural beauty all around him everywhere
On the trees new leaves are budding and the nesting songbirds sing
And he is learning about Nature and the year is in her Spring.

And he can hear the dipper singing where the gurgling rapids flow
And he is learning about Nature and of Nature there is much to know
And from the Finnow bridge at Drishane such great beauty he can see
Something he can keep forever as a treasured memory.