Na Connerys
A Choimín mhallaithe, guímse deacair ort agus gráin Mhic Dé
‘S ar an ngasra úd atá ceangailte go dlúth led thaobh;
Mar siad a dhearbhaigh na leabhartha ar an dtriúr fear séimh
‘S do chuir na Connerys thar na farraigí ‘dtís na New South Wales.
‘S an té a bhéadh ‘na sheasamh ann is a dhéanfadh machnamh ar ár gcúis dá plé
Mar do sheasaigh sí óna seacht ar maidin ‘dtí tar éis a naoi
Do chrith an talamh fúinn le linn na leabhartha á dtabhairt sa mbréag.
Mo ghreidhinse an t-anam bocht, tá sí damanta, más fíor don chléir.
Tá jaicéad ghairide a dhéanamh ó mhaidin dúinn is triús dá réir
Culaith farraige ní nár chaitheamar i dtús ár saoil
Murach feabhas ár gcarad dúinn, bhí ár muinéil cnagaithe, is sinn go doimhin san aol,
Nó gur casadh sinn chun téarma a chaitheamh ins na New South Wales.
A Bhanríon bheannaithe is a Rí na bhFlaitheas Geal, tabhair fuscailt orainn araon
Is ar an mbanaltra atá sa mbaile go dubhach inár ndiaidh.
Le linn an Aifrinn bígí ag agallamh is ag guí chun Dé
Ar na Connerys a thabhairt abhaile chugainn ós na New South Wales.
The Connerys
Cursed Comyn, on thee may misfortune be, and bitter hate
And all beside, to thee near allied, both soon and late,
For ‘twas you that swore, though my heart you tore, the lying tales
That sent the Connerys far across the seas to the New South Wales.
From the morning dawn until evening’s fall, they heard our pleas,
But for all our friends, we still were sent to cross the seas,
Then quaked the solid ground at the horrid sound of the lying tales,
That sent the Connerys far across the seas to the New South Wales.
A tarry jacket and a sailor’s kit are for us prepared,
Oh ‘twas little ever we expected it where we were reared.
But for our honest friends we had met our ends in our youthful prime
Not in foreign lands but from hangman’s hands in the deep quick lime.
Oh blessed Queen and the King of Heaven bright, look down from above,
On the mother who did rear us two, with mother’s love,
When the mass bell rings send your prayers on wings to God on high,
To bring the Connerys from across the seas before she die.
Translation from Londubh an Chairn
The Connerys: an Explanation
From Nioclás Tóibín’s cd, Amhráin Aneas:
“This epic song relates the fate of Waterford’s greatest folk heroes, the brothers Pádraig, Séamus and Seán Connery from Both a’ Dúin near Dungarvan. They were perceived to take a bold stand against the injustices of the land system in Ireland before the Great Famine and became heroes of the rural poor in their own time and for generations after. The Connerys were tried in 1831 for the attempted murder of a landlord’s employee. Séamus was found guilty and sent for life to Botany Bay. The solicitor acting for the landlords obtained an eviction order on the 24th of June 1834 and arrived with a large company of police and put the Connerys out of their farm. To the delight of their neighbours, they soon drove the new tenant out and reoccupied the holding. They were tried for this and for threatening Foley on the 22nd of July and sentenced to seven years in Botany Bay. On the 18th of August 1835 they escaped from a detention centre and headed for the hills. They were nine months on the run but were finally captured on the 7th of March 1836 in Waterford city attempting to board a ship for America. They escaped yet again and were not apprehended until March 1838. They were transported and never returned to Ireland again.
