A TALE FROM KILLARNEY

A bright colleen was comely Molly,

The daughter of Paddy Magee,

A feisty lass bred on Ireland’s soil

And determined as any you’d see.

Now, Molly and Paddy were often at odds

So the villagers all opined.

Strong-willed was Paddy, but Molly was too;

They were two of a kind.

Seamus Tashus thought Paddy a fool

And often told him so.

Then the shillelaghs flew and the air grew blue.

But no winners. ‘Twas touch and go.

Seamus was proud of his only son,

Austen, a brawny lad.

But when Austen smiled broadly to Molly

Neither Paddy nor Seamus was glad.

Austen and Molly were kept apart

—or so the story goes,

But the sweethearts found their own grand way

As this tale shows.

On Festival Night at Shamrock Hill

Along the leprechaun trail,

The lovers two did slip away

To the coast where a ship set sail.

Many a one with the gift of Blarney

Will tell in great detail

How Molly and Austen were wafted away

By the wee folk on the leprechaun trail.

And sometimes when heard is the banshee wail

On a wild wind frightful night,

The home folk, huddled by their hearth’s warm glow,

Will mourn the lost lovers’ plight.

But far from Killarney, across the sea,

In a wedding both sweet and gracious,

Our lovers were joined as man and wife:

Molly and Austen Tashus.

#IrishTales #PoetryandIreland #LoveandPoetry