Musical Memories

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Paddy Billy and the St. Declan

[Verse 1]
On a cold December evening,
In nineteen fifty's year,
The snow came down on Dunmore,
And the gale was drawing near.
Five fishermen were missing,
And flares lit up the night,
So Paddy Billy took the helm,
And sailed towards their light.

[Verse 2]
The Annie Blanche Smith left Dunmore,
Through darkness, wind and foam,
To search along the rocky shore,
And bring the lost boys home.
Past Red Head and past Portally,
The searchlight swept the sea,
Till out beside the Falskirt Rocks,
The St. Declan they could see.

[Chorus]
Oh, Paddy Billy, hold her steady,
There's no time left to spare,
The Falskirt seas are breaking,
And death is waiting there.
Through snow and gale and darkness,
With the wild sea rolling on,
Bring the boys back home to Dunmore,
Before the night is gone.

[Verse 3]
Her nets were down behind her,
But still she drifted fast,
Stern-first towards the Falskirt,
Each minute seemed her last.
Two cables from destruction,
With the breakers roaring white,
Paddy knew within a moment,
He must get that tow-rope right.

[Verse 4]
“Bring her round and bring her closer,”
Was Paddy Billy's call,
For one mistake or broken rope
Could mean the loss of all.
The lifeboat's bow came sweeping in,
Through seas that rose and fell,
And Paddy cast the heaving line,
And threw it straight and well.

[Chorus]
Oh, Paddy Billy, hold her steady,
There's no time left to spare,
The Falskirt seas are breaking,
And death is waiting there.
Through snow and gale and darkness,
With the wild sea rolling on,
Bring the boys back home to Dunmore,
Before the night is gone.

[Verse 5]
A rope was bent onto the line,
The chain was fastened then,
And eighty fathoms followed,
Between the boats and men.
They cut away the fishing nets,
The lifeboat took the strain,
And slowly drew the St. Declan
From the rocks and out again.

[Verse 6]
For nearly one long mile they went,
Stern-first against the sea,
Till Falskirt’s rocks lay far astern,
And every man was free.
Then Paddy turned them homeward,
Through the darkness and the foam,
And midnight found the St. Declan
Safe in Dunmore harbour home.

[Bridge]
No cheering crowd was waiting,
No band played on the quay,
Just five men spared the Falskirt Rocks,
And given back by the sea.
For courage needs no trumpet,
And brave men seldom boast,
They simply go when others call,
Into the stormy coast.

[Final Chorus]
Oh, Paddy Billy, hold her steady,
As you've done so many times,
Through the gales around the Hook Head,
And the seas off Dunmore East.
And whenever storms blow over
And the Falskirt breakers roar,
We'll remember Paddy Billy
And the five he brought ashore.

[Outro]
So here's to Annie Blanche Smith,
And the crew who answered then,
And here's to Paddy Billy Power,
Who brought them home again.
When winter seas are rising,
And the wind blows hard and strong,
The rescue of the St. Declan
Will live in Dunmore's song.