Tir Na Nog - Tír na nÓg

Across the dewy morning hills of Erin

Rode Niamh Chinn Oir on a snow-white steed

To Oisin, poet of the Fianna

For she fain would this mortal wed

Ride with me to the fairyland of Tír na nÓg

For I have long loved you said she

And Oisin taken with her beauty

He bade farewell to his company

They rode through stormy regions far beyond the sea

To a land where time had ne’er its harvest reaped

And for an age there Oisin lived contented

Till longing for his comrades made him weep

I cannot help but read the sad dreams in your eyes

So you may return to your country

And take my blessing with this one command

'Do not dismount from your fairy steed'

But when at last he reached that misty island

So strange a sight did meet his puzzled frown

For Oisin rode as a giant among the people

And nowhere were the Fianna to be found

He learned from a gathering of workers

Together straining with a heavy weight

That centuries before his friends had perished

Which painful tidings filled him with despair

As payment for the news that we have told to you

Pray help us this heavy stone to move

For if your strength can match your mighty stature

Scarce more than a touch enough should prove

But the saddle tore as Oisin leaned to help them

And sorely he upon the ground was thrown

He quickly changed into an aged man

And ne’er again laid eyes on Tír na nÓg