"Arigna's Green Vale"

(Poem written by Patrick Dowd,
brother of Mary Laydon,
en-route to Australia circa 1880)
My friends of youth and eloquence this pen I take in hand
To note some facts concerning My own dear native land
Although I am now in exile To you I will reveal
What nature has implanted Around Arigna's Green Vale
Ascend the base on which to rest the mountains of Gluckawn
Then cast your eyes around you on Leitrim's pleasant lawns
And view Drumkeeran Chapel with a tower ne'er to fail
Sending tones of heavenly music to Arigna's green Vale
Beneath her crystal fountain the trout and salmon bound
The woodcock and the partridge her headlands do abound
The music of the thrushes resound both hill and dell
From their nests that's strung with joy around Arigna's Green Vale
From Glencarrowcastle Mountain the scene is most sublime
To view the Plains of Sligo with its harvest home in time
The magnificence of Geevagh with its flowery covered dells
Perfumes the air in magic to Arigna's Green Vale