A PLEASANT INTERLUDE

Eveningtime At Doonass

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I spent a pleasant afternoon lately out at Doonass, the Falls and river sparkling in the warm Spring sun. This is one of those 'gifted' locations only a few minutes outside bustling Limerick city, a veritable oasis of green and water where the soul is refreshed and the senses made keen by the beautiful sights that abound at every turn. And when the light dims it is pleasant to retire inside the Anglers Rest and slake the thirst instilled by the sensory delights outside! I was with my good friend Aidan and thats exactly what we did at the end of the day,engaging in conversation over a few drinks until well into the evening. This visit put me in mind of the song that celebrates the Falls of Doonass made famous many years ago by singer Ann Muqueen GOSh.-

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THE FALLS OF DOONASS

As I roved out one evening as Sol cast his rays,

Behind yon western mountains and the wide western seas;

I carelessly roved out, my leisure hours to pass,

For to view the Shannon water that flows through Doonass.

My mind was enraptured at this enchanting scene,

Such a place in all Ireland there is not I ween;

Proud, beautiful and crystal bright, shining like glass,

Is that pure Shannon water that flows through Doonass.

Chorus:

In Doonass I was born and ‘tis there I’d like to die,

And down in its old churchyard my old bones lie;

For if fortune proves in favour the seas I ne’er will cross,

Nor bid adieu to Clonlara, Castleconnell or Doonass.

Have you been to Killarney, the Causeway or Quay,

The proud bay of Dublin, Loophead or Kinsale?

The city cove of Cork seems but shadows or gas,

When compared to the proud rolling falls of Doonass.

And if you’re tired of walking proceed on further still,

To the right of Massey’s mansion ‘tis there you’ll get your fill;

And when you reach the summit, come fill up your glass,

Drink a health, wealth and honour to the falls of Doonass.

Chorus:

Go into the rock-gardens to take a refreshing breeze,

Where the holy hand of time has spread beneath its trees;

‘Tis there you’ll see the anglers, both bonny, bright and gay,

With their artificial flies in the sweet month of May.

Go eastward and westward and into the churchyard,

Quiet sober and silent, ‘twould win your regard,

With its crumbling walls of ivy and graves of green grass,

And the dead lying beneath them near the falls of Doonass.

Chorus:

And if you’re not tired of walking, proceed on further still,

Until you come up with Saint Senan’s holy well,

Where the lame, blind and weary a cure ever has,

In that healing gift from heaven near the falls of Doonass.

Oh, when shall that day come, that dear and happy hour,

When I’ll walk undisturbed ‘neath the turret’s green bower,

With my mind free from care, and by my side a lass,

And she lives in a cottage near the falls of Doonass.