Father O'Flynn Author:Alfred Perceval Graves Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: BAT OF THE BRIDGE. On the bridge of Dereen, Away up by Killarney, i You'll be sure to be seein' Poor Batsy O'Kearney A big stick in the air So la... more »zily swingin', Smokin' and jokin' And carelessly singin' Some snatch of a song, Out over the river, As it rushes along For iver and iver To the Bay of Kenmare. Six foot six Is the fix Of his height, Honour bright! Forty-eight the diminsion Round his ribs by my inchin ; It's murther to say Such a man's thrun away. BAT OF 7HE BRIDGE. 23 He's the last to delay And the earliest comer On the bridge by the bay, Winter and summer. Do you question why so ? What keeps him for iver Smokin' and jokin' And out on the river That rushes below, Serenadin' so gaily ? 'Twas the cowardly blow Of a tinker's shillelagh Left the proper man so. But you're wonderin', why, How at all it could happen Such a broth of a boy Got the scandalous rappin'. "TVas September fair day, And the Adragole faction Wid Dereen for the green And the bridge were in action ; And from off the bridge road, Wid his cudgel so clever, Bat was leatherin' a load Of Cork men for ever, Just as if it was play. When up from beneath, Still further and further, Houldin' tight in his teeth A stick that was murther, That black tinker stole, By the ivy boughs clingin', On the edge of the bridge The knees softly swingin'; And, unknowns! at his back, From the wall of the river Fetched O'Kearney a crack, That left him for iver Wid a poor, puzzled poll. Did he fall? Not at all! But he picked off that tinker Like a snail from the wall And before you could think or Repate your own name, Cot the stick from the ruffi'n, BAT OF THE BRIDGE. 25 Knocked him dead on the head, And wid...« less