Meenacrois
One day as I went a-walking on the road to Tobar Caoin
Just out beyond the bathing pond I met a sweet colleen
Her features were enchanting and her hair was all a-curl
Ah she nearly took my breath away, that darling little girl.
Like many another bachelor I was out to have some fun
So as she passed I promptly asked if as my wife she’d come
Sure my question wasn’t finished when I heard the colleen say
“Gee you’re the guy I’m looking for, your offer sounds okay!”
Her answer came so sudden I was sorry that I spoke
So straight away I tried to say that it was all a joke
My explanation she ignored and to save all further strife
I had to promise there and then I’d take her for my wife.
I planned a quiet marriage and for me that wasn’t hard
“We’ll just retire to Fr Maguire in Leitirmacaward.”
“Gee no,” said she, “sure that ain’t posh” and gave her head a toss
“We’ll go out to Fr Doherty in dear old Meenacrois.”
So Fr Doherty tied the knot and I thought I saw him smile
For my frightened face looked like her lace that covered all the aisle
And the crowded church was all bedecked with flowers of every bloom
And the wedding hymn was played and sung by Fr Art McLoone.
And now that I am tied for life to bachelors I would say
If you take a walk don’t dare to talk to a girl along the way
If this tip you refuse you’ll surely lose your freedom and your dole
As I found to my cost when a word I tossed to that damsel near Dungloe.
Written by Fr Tommy Doherty.
Fr Doherty had spent seven years in Scotland after ordination in 1927. On leaving, the people of Greenock had presented him with a car. He liked to give people a lift when he was curate in Meenacrois. One day he gave a lift to a girl with a shawl over her head. When she got into the car she threw back the shawl with the remark “Gee, Father, you sure have a swell automobile”. His imagination filled in the rest. (Notes taken from the book, Donegal: Songs, Poems, Stories and Pilgrimages)
