by/ Tony Gorman
Across the waves we made our home
Across the oceans wide
Across the seas on foreign shores
Arrived by air and tide
We built our lives on what was there
We worked at what we could
We mingled with the people there
And only right we should
They accepted us for who we were
They accepted us for our toil
They accepted us for our personality
As at times we made them smile
Through the years we made our mark
Through the years our family grew
Through the years our friends passed on in life
And through age we joined the queue
Our children became citizens of the land
Our grandchildren are the same
We started out as immigrants
As from Ireland we all came
Spare a thought for all of us that’s left
Spare a prayer for those that’s gone
For we know there’s more will follow us
As immigration goes on and on
One day our economy will stabilize
And our youth can stay at home
To work and live in harmony
And never have to roam
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It was sad to see so many young and old leaving Ireland to find work abroad in the 60s and 70s when there was no work to be found at home.
I was one of those that in the early 70s had to leave Ireland to find work on the building sites in England to earn a living.
I struggled for a while trying to get digs to enable me to bring my wife and two children over to start a new life.
I suppose I was one of the lucky ones but it took four months before I could find anywhere suitable to bring my family over to.
I put my head down and worked my socks off and eventually made it pay by working myself into a management position over the years which allowed me to help others who were struggling back then.
There were those who because they had no fixed abode couldn’t get work which left them sleeping rough and having to beg on the streets of London.
My position back then on the sites gave me a chance to help some by employing them as labourers and giving them subs and references to enable them to get off the streets into digs by having a weekly wage.
I’m glad to say most of the lads back then went on to pick up a trade on my sites as plasterers, dry liners and carpenter’s
Sadly you can’t help everyone and there were those who thought themselves a failure and were too embarrassed to go home to Ireland and ended up living rough on the streets and drinking their lives away.
I always wished that the Irish government at some point would be able to see further then the end of their noses and see the talent that have to leave the Irish shores to find work abroad.
If these people used their talent back home instead of on foreign shores they could boost up the Irish economy but first the government need to get creative in the roles they have been elected for and devise ways of creating jobs to stop the flow of workers joining the immigration queue leaving their native country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If only!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wicklow 6th December 2015 by/Tony Gorman
If you were a lady my love would be endless
For the scenes that you showed are engraved in my heart
Of mountains and rivers and silver sand sea shores
And the waves from tides that keeps us apart
But when I am with you I’m lost in your beauty
Of your ever green valley’s where stress has no place
That eases all pressures where St Kevin found solace
In a Glendalough retreat where he found peace and grace
And the trickling streams that flow down from your mountains
Sparkle and shine flowing over each shelf
Splashing below causing rainbows in sunshine
Reviving the spirit you feel in yourself
And to walk along the Murrough and view all its wildlife
Of wild flowers of all colours bringing butterflies and bees
And those Little Egrets stalking the banks of the Vartry
As they prey on the fish with the greatest of ease
Billy Byrne your local hero stands aloft there to greet all
In the market square of your vibrant town
And rebels like Billy who opposed the law there
Were locked in your gaol and to the gallows were shown
Down by the harbour there’s coming and going
Of boats of all sorts sailing out on the tide
Some focused on fishing and others on pleasure
And kids in their dinghy’s sailing out for a ride
So Wicklow your presence is deep in my mind
Since the visits I made to you back in the past
And hopefully I’ll see you sometime in the future
To astound me once more by the beauty you cast
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Wicklow is one of the most beautiful places in Ireland and has always been for a lot of us Dublin people.
I remember as a kid going to Bray with my parents for a day out, this was the equivalent of a holiday to us back then.
As a lad I fished Greystones beaches and loved the scenic rail journey along the coast to get there.
I spent last Christmas in Wicklow with some very special people and had a wonderful time and hope in 2016 I can return there again to relax in its inspiring beauty.
Wonderful Tony, I don’t know if you seen the news on the weather news for Ireland but we’ve been hit with a few severe storms recently. This was Powerscourt Waterfall a few days ago https://www.facebook.com/brian.oneill.188/videos/980322105339311/
Beautiful, but I wouldn’t get too close!
A beautiful place to visit in the summer but this is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love it.
Thanks’ for that