Guth & Tuairim, Lúnasa 1980

I wonder if therp are many people living· now who remember "Sports Phaid! Oig" or the day Duttie Sh!le lost his eye. The event occurred in the ·early years of the century hCirca 1910) and it's said that Dan Fhearagail from obhar was an umpire. sports phaid r 6ig In Crolly of old, a story ,i~ told, Of a tavern called Paddy Ogs, \.Jhere whiskey and guinness .and brandy was sold And other intoxicant 1 grogs 1 ; But the money got scarse and the customers sparse Though boozers there were quite a few, But each had a stil on the breast of the hill, Concocting his own mountain dew. Jack Antoin got wise, he consulted his boys, And they founded the Meenaleck fair, With a licence to boot and an eye for the loot, As long as the jobbers came there; Now polly-cows came £rom Braade and Calhame, And heifers and donkeys and sheep, Between braying and lowing, the guinness kept flovring, Jack Antoin was making a heap. Paddy Og at the bridge developed a grudge, And swore he'd impoverise Jack; For weeks on an end, he was near 'round the bend Through planning some form of attack; But the Gallagher bra~n lived up to his name; He came forth with a powerful scheme: He 1 d broadcast reports, he was holding a 1 sports 1 With prizes galore for the teams; The programme he planned with a masterfUl hand, Athletic events by the score, Competitors welcome the Jorum to enter, From Gweebarra right down to Gweedore. Came a Saturday in June, when the gorse was in bloom, And according to schedule and plan, From ravine and fen, from valley and glen, The mighty procession began; Tinkers and tailors and one-legged sailors, Hucksters and trucksters and shams, Con-men in troops with their 'trick o 1 the loops, And medicine men with their balms; There was Jack a 1 chinn mh6ir from Heenlecknalore, Mylie na gcoinnin from Owey, A master turf-clarnper from over the Ramper, And a flooter from Ceannballycroey; A ·glutton from Acres who challenged all takers, at eating a loaf in two bites, And a brow-beaten four from above Crickamore, Excelling in wrestling and fights. Last month we published the words of "My Charming Mary Neil 11·, .a very old version of Mary from Dungloe. We have now received another version under the A d•rarf 1 name of Doogan who swung a cor-shugan And a battail of straw on his back, Who swore by the Pope he would birl a straw-rope, That would anchor the clumsiest stack; A guy and his duck from over Faoi Chnoc And humping a grandfather clock, To tally the time while the lachin would mime, Robert Emmetts last speech from the dock; High jump and hop jump long jump and low jump 1 Hilers and half-milers to boot, A thousand yard pace and the three-legged race, And target-men eager to shoot; The quarter mile race began with good pace From the cross 'round to Connaghan 1 s. bend, The one running last left spectators aghast, The race course did not comprehend; At the turn-about post, he appeared to get lost, They reckon his eyesight was bad, He caused a furore as he galloped through Dore, Grunting in Gaelic like mad. The race for the mile lined up in good style, From the bridge 'round to Faddy Hor's street, But whatever the reason, they reckon •twas treason, Dan Airtin began cooking meat; The man in the lead got weak with sheer greed, When the smell of the gravy came o 1 er, Between shivers and slivers, he made for the river, And was heard of in Crolly no more. To round off the fun, Tom na Spag and his gun, He offered a half pound of tay, To the best shooting man who would knock a tin can, From a gatepost ten fathoms away; There were pellets going wide and soce going astride, Some jammed in the ba rrel instead, 1 Till a prig from Loch Hile shot poor J:luttie .Shighle, And knocked the eye out of his head; Now th~ clamour that 1 rose, brough events to a close, Paddy Og was the winner no doubt; For a year and a day Micky Shiela would say, He sold twenty barrels of stout~ William Sling (the younger). title "Mary near Dungloe". mary near dungloe Farewell farewell sweet Donegal, the Rosses and Gweedore, I'm going to cross the ocean where the foaming billows roar; It grieves ~heart from you to part where I've spent many happy days, Farewell to kind relations, I am bound for America. Oh, many's the pleasant evening with~ true love I did walk, By the mountain side where the streams did glide, we lovingly did talk; But I must roam far from home which fills my heart with woe, I'll go where I will, I'll love yo~ still, My Mary near Dungloe. My love she's tall and handsome and her age is scarce sixteen, She far exceeds all other maids as she trips it o'er the green; With her lovely neck and· shoulders and her skin as white as snow, Till the day I die, I'll ne'er derzy, the girl lives near Dungloe. Oh, ~~y of my heart's delight, my joy and only care) LeAC PArbf 6r:s Croli-SL( It was your cruel father, he would not let me be there; But when I 1 rn. on the ocean where the stormy winds do blow, I will constant prove to ~ true love, the girl lives near Dungloe. Her father he's a wealthy man, convenient to the to\m, And if I had stores of riches, on me he would not frown; But absence makes the heart grow fond when I'm far o'er the main, May the Lord protect my darling girl, 'till I return again. My love wrote me a letter as..you may understand, She says my lad do not feel sad, though in a foreign land, For I'll keep you in~ mind, no matter where you go, Until you return again to me, my love in sweet Dungloe. Farewell my kind relations and comrade boys adieu, I 1 m going to the land of liberty, my fortune to pursue; And when I do return again with ~ fortune great in Et ore, I' 11 wed my dear and only love, she's the girl ' lives near Dungloe. L -----=--- -------::.____ ...:......J 9