Memories
--------------------
HOW well do I remember
My home beside the hill,
The salmon weir, the Rectory,
And Isaac Beckett’s Mill,
The church where I was christened
Where I worshipped as a boy:
These are the things I remember best
About Ballina on the Moy.
How well do I remember
The Bunree and Downhill,
Bishop Naughton’s home, St. Muredach’s
And the Convent on the hill;
Old Ruddy’s School, the Parochial Hall,
The road to old Corroy
These are the things I remember best
About Ballina on the Moy.
How well do I remember—
One can’t forget so soon—
Those trips to Bartra,
The excursions to Pontoon.
Mount Nephin’s stately grandeur,
These are the things I remember best
About Ballina on the Moy.
How well do I remember
The dances at the old Town Hall,
Where I used to meet all the colleens sweet,
Where I danced with the “belle of the ball”;
The Killala
Road
These memories are ever a joy;
These are the things I remember best
About Ballina on the Moy.
How well do I remember
The Stephenites years ago,
P. Kilduff, the Courells, Pappy Smith, the Boshells,
And their battle cry “Up Mayo!”
The games they played in the old Camp Field
Those games I used to enjoy—
These are the things I remember best
About Ballina on the Moy.
I always will remember
That place that gave me birth,
To me it ever will remain
The dearest spot on earth.
Some day when fortune favours
A visit I hope to enjoy,
When I’ll meet again all my old friends
From Ballina on the Moy.
Thomas
A. Armstrong
(late of Palmyra
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