THE BOG IN TIMAHOE

The Bog in Timahoe

Come all you boys from Timahoe, Coill Dubh and Roberstown.
From Allenwood and Carbury, I pray you’ll gather round.
I’ll tell you of those days long past  when times were hard and tough,
When men came up to  Timahoe to work and save the turf.

From Waterford and Cork they came, and from Limerick, Tipp and Clare,
And from the West of Ireland they headed to Kildare.
For the work was hard and the pay was small  and the grub was never enough,
To try sustain these hearty men who work to save the turf.

Accommodation for these men was basic at it’s best,
T’was really just a place for them to eat and take a rest,
The work back then was done by hand  in sunshine and in rain,
And those who couldn’t stick the pace were sent back home again.

Now when machines came on the scene these men they stood in awe,
To see a bagger travel on a bog that was still raw,
With railway sleepers under her to help her travel on,
Those big machines were a sight to see in days that are now long gone.

The bog is standing idle now both machine and man are gone,
It’s sad to see it growing wild where so much work was done,
The men who came to Timahoe were loyal stout and tough,
And many a family was well reared with the saving of the turf.

Joe Kennedy
Allenwood

‘The bog in Timahoe,’ a poem by Joe Kennedy, Allenwood. Our thanks to Joe