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Poetry - The Loughanure Shore
The Loughanure Shore
by Paddy McGarvey
© 1990
One evening of late I rambled,
Round the edge of a rough rocky shore,
I remembered the days of my boyhood,
And companions not there anymore.
It was there that we all played together,
Till the limbs of our bodies were sore,
But now I am only a dreamer,
All alone on the Loughanure shore.
The ‘gentry’ they came in their hundreds,
To fish and be part of the scene,
As the view from the lake it was lovely,
And the fields were an emerald green.
But the years have altered the picture,
Gone are the pleasures of yore,
The fields are now dull and deserted,
Around by the Loughanure shore.
The swans they were there in abundance,
And selfishly guarded their care;
As they nested on heathery islands,
The home of the wildlife, so rare.
But the wildlife has also departed,
Together with seanachas and lore,
The cry of the curlew is silenced,
Around by the Loughanure shore.
The limekilns are now only history,
Where once they were ‘factories’ for all,
The smoke from their wide open ‘chimneys’
Was seen around West Donegal.
No fortunes were made in that venture,
By our people who lived here before,
But they managed to eke out a living,
Around by the Loughanure shore.
The ‘Tech’ it was there for the learning,
And served the town lands around,
But now it stands lonely and vacant,
The building itself is unsound,
But even though its classrooms are empty,
And will not be used anymore,
The name is still over the doorway,
Overlooking the Loughanure shore.
Many people will say it is progress,
That changes must come to pass,
That the old way of life is over,
And the ‘young ones’ a different class.
While I’m not an opposer of changes,
Although I’m sixty or more,
There is no one will change my opinion,
That there’s changes on Loughanure shore.
The years are now closing around me,
I am not as fit as before,
Perhaps that is why I’m lamenting,
As I ramble around Loch Mór
But if I was offered a ‘death wish’,
I would certainly settle the score,
And spend the whole of eternity,
Around the Loughanure shore.
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