Mosaic of St. Patrick Athenaeum of ~

Photographed by Robert McNary Flischel

1 The Society of The Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick is a private organization dedicated to the principles of brotherhood, charity and community service. Since the founding of the Cincinnati chapter in 1868, the society has maintained a tradition of openness to Irish as well as non-Irish men of goodwill, without regard to ethnic or religious origin.

There were two predecessors to the Cincinnati Society - Philadelphia, founded in 1771 and New York, founded in 1784.

With God’s blessing we look forward to another century of fraternity and service.

2 Ryan D. McKenna President

3 The history of the name McKenna dates back to a time before Irish names were translated into English. The original Gaelic form of McKenna was Mac Cionaoith.

The McKenna families descend from the Mac Cionaoith sept whose territory was in the barony of Trough in County Monaghan. A ‘sept’ is a group of people all living in the same locality, all bearing the same surname, but not necessarily de- scended from a common ancestor. Their progeny was prolific so that McKenna ranks among the hundred commonest surnames in Ireland, but it is still predominantly an Ulster name and most heavily distributed in the counties of Monaghan, Tyrone, Armagh and Antrim. MacKenna is one of the few names from which the old Gaelic prefixes of Mac and O were not generally dropped in the dark period of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Though almost always written MacKenna (or in modern times McKenna), in the spoken language Kenna is quite common and in some places, notably Clare and Kerry, the emphasis is on the final A, with the result that births have been from time to time registered under many synonyms - such as Kennagh, Ginnaw and even Gna.

Robert McKenna and Bridget Clarke emigrated to the United States from their respective roots in County Cork and Westport, Clew Bay County Mayo. They were blessed with a son, Robert, who married Mary McDonald in the 1860’s. Their residence was Cleveland, OH. Robert and Mary raised five children, Thomas, Hazel, Nellie, Mabel and my Great Grandfather Robert Emmett. Robert Emmett McKenna married Daisy Elizabeth Roebecker in Cincinnati, OH in 1898. They had three children; Donald, Dorothy and my Grandfather, Robert Willard McKenna.

Robert Willard McKenna began the family’s involvement in the Cincinnati Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in 1958. During World War II Robert McKenna and Mary Friedmann planted their roots on the west side of Cincinnati and started a family that consists of Bob Jr., Pat, Dan, Mike, Bill, and Mary. My father Daniel J. McKenna served as the 121st President of the Friendly Sons in 1989 and at the time of this publication continues to serve the Society as Chairman. 4 The Program

Invocation ...... Rev. Anthony Brausch Banquet Chaplain

Introduction ...... Douglas F. Powell Past President

Welcoming Remarks ...... Ryan D. McKenna President

Greetings from the City...... The Honorable Roxanne Qualls Vice Mayor, City of Cincinnati

Chairman’s Remarks and Introduction Of the Honored Guest ...... Daniel J. McKenna Chairman of the Society

Our Honored Guest ...... Rev. Dr. Robert W. Croskery

Musical Presentation ...... The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Glee Club

Introduction of the Honored Speaker ...... Ryan D. McKenna

Our Honored Speaker ...... Josh Sneed

Benediction ...... Rev. Anthony Brausch

Finale ...... “God Bless America” Led by The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Glee Club

5 Menu

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Buffet Erin

Jumbo Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce Teriyaki Glazed Salmon with Red Cabbage Slaw Petite Maryland Roasted Corn Crab Cakes Calamari & Cherry Pepper Spoons Mini Rueben Puffs Goetta Sliders on Pumpernickel

Seated Menu

Shredded Salad with Feta, Cucumber, Tomato, and Olive 8 oz. Filet of Beef served with a Balsamic Demi Béarnaise Sauce Potato Galette Broccolini

Dessert

Chocolate Pie Coffee and Tea

6 Music

“Star Spangled Banner” ...... Key “Soldier’s Song” ...... O’Cearnaigh

Friendly SonS orcheStra directed By Paul Wagner ron hall, SoloiSt

A grand selection of Irish favorites, American military anthems and college songs. Sing along with the latter.

the Friendly SonS oF St. Patrick oF cincinnati glee cluB directed By damon Sink

“In Dublin’s Fair City” ...... Traditional “The Fields of Athenry” ...... Pete St. John “Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears” ...... Brendan Graham Arr. D. Sink “Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral ...... J. R. Shannon (That’s an Irish Lullaby)” Arr. D. Sink “Wild Rover” ...... Traditional “The Hail of the Friendly Sons” ...... Victor Herbert

Finale

“God Bless America” ...... Irving Berlin

Thank You The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick wish to thank Sheriff Simon L. Leis, Jr. for providing the Hamilton County Bag Pipe and Drum Corps for the presentation of the colors this evening.

7 The Glee Club of The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in Cincinnati Organized in late 1984, the Glee Club presents its 26th annual performance at this year’s banquet. Its members truly love the Irish tunes they sing. They represent the Society well as they perform throughout the year at nursing homes, hospitals, and other civic, religious and cultural events in our area. May you enjoy your Glee Club this evening.

2009 Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Cincinnati Glee Club Musical Director: Damon Sink; Baritone: Ray Carr, Kevin Connor, Kent Covey, Robert (Rob) Croskery, Rich Dineen, Rich Ellsworth, Tim Garry, Joe Healey, Joe Kane, Timothy Keefe, Brian Lan, Patrick Lindsay, Joe McDevitt, Al McGrover, Brian Moore, Benjamin Rivet, E. Seamus Roche, Gerald Shannon, Marc (Buck) Shiels, Mark Ulliman; Bass: Mike Conaton, Jay Cranley, Paul Donohue, Bob Geoppinger, Neil Geoppinger, Bill Klumb, Tom Liguzinski, Brian Malloy, Frank McGoron, Dan McKenna, Art Neergaard, Jim Powers, Tom Powers MD, Dan Shea, Bryan Stafford; First Tenor: Jim Fitzgerald, Pat Flaherty, Jim Frede, Tim Garry Jr., Bill Ivers, Kevin Moore, Jerry O’Connell, Pete Puttmann, Pat Sheeran, Tom Sheeran, Jim Whelan; Second Tenor: Gene Born, Tim Carney, Robert (Bob) Cranley, Jack Garrity, Tim Geoppinger, Tom Geoppinger, John Geraghty, Greg Gibbons, Mike Hanley, Al Harsnett, Mark Herman, Bob Jennings, Paul Lindsay, Marvin Miller, Declan O’Sullivan, Bro Puttmann MD, Dan Roche, Bill Stock, Terrence Wright

8 Officers President ...... Ryan D. McKenna First Vice-President ...... James E. Fitzgerald Second Vice-President ...... Daniel P. Shea Financial Secretary ...... Thomas P. Tierney Corresponding Secretary ...... Michael R. Powell Membership Secretary ...... Thomas E. Donnellon Treasurer ...... Robert S. Powell, Jr. Historian ...... Edmund J. Adams Chaplain ...... Rev. Anthony Brausch

Banquet Stewards

Banquet Chairman ...... Thomas P. Tierney Music ...... Daniel P. Shea

Media ...... James E. Fitzgerald Food ...... Thomas R. McKenna and Michael Carr Contracts ...... Timothy A. Garry, Jr.

9 Board of Trustees

Daniel J. McKenna, Chairman Robert S. Powell, Jr. - Vice Chairman John F. Barrett Hon. John J. Gilligan Patrick R. Carr Thomas J. Geoppinger Richard A. Castellini Michael K. Keating Timothy D. Clarke Hon. William J. Keating Thomas G. Cody Paul L. Lindsay, Jr. Michael J. Conaton Stephen T. MacConnell Rev. Dr. Robert W. Croskery J. Gibbs MacVeigh Thomas E. Donnellon Neil J. O’Conner, Jr. Sean D. Donovan P. Declan O’Sullivan Thomas L. Finn Douglas F. Powell James T. Fitzgerald Jerry A. Powell Robert R. Fitzpatrick, Jr. E. James Roche John A. Flanagan Thomas P. Tierney Timothy A. Garry, Jr.

10 Our Honored Speaker

Josh Sneed is quickly making his mark as one of the top young comics in the business, and for the purpose of this bio, has become skilled in the art of writing in the third Josh Sneed person. After quitting a comfy day job working for Proctor & Gamble, he’s made great strides in following his passion for stand-up.

In 2008, Josh finished 2nd out of 100 of Comedy Central’s top co- medians in the Annual Stand-up Showdown competition, earning him a deal to record a new album on Comedy Central Records. “Unacceptable” was released September 30, 2008 and was given rave reviews. ITunes selected it as one of the Top 10 comedy albums released last year.

In 2006, Josh filmed a 30-minute special, “Comedy Central Presents: Josh Sneed” that debuted in March 2007 and is currently re-airing. In November of 2006, Josh placed 6th in the Sierra Mist/MySpace Stand-up or Sit Down Challenge out of over 2,000 entrants. Finish- ing high in competitions is nothing new to Josh. In 4th grade he earned a blue ribbon for throwing a softball through a tire.

In 2004, he performed at the Just For Laugh’s Montreal Comedy Festival in the “New Faces of Comedy” group. In 2007, Josh was chosen by Comedy Central to perform in the inaugural South Beach Comedy Festival. In 2009, Josh garnered praise from Punchline Magazine for his performance at the Aspen Comedy Festival. Josh has made numerous appearances on the nationally syndicated “The Bob & Tom Show.”

11 The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Foundation Cincinnati, Ohio “I bind myself today—to the power of God to guide me, the might of God to uphold me, the wisdom of God to teach me, the eye of God to watch over me.” From The Breastplate of St. Patrick

Our Mission: Feeding the Hungry − The Friendly Sons should never forget the hunger that haunted their ancestors, and remembering, should help assure that such hunger be reduced by assisting those agencies that provide food, shelter and comfort to those most in need in the Cincinnati area. Scholarships − The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick offers collegiate scholarship opportunities for area students interested in studying in Dublin. For those students, a wealth of knowledge and learning awaits, from the rolling hills of Ireland’s beauty, to the rich history of her people, to the personal pride in one’s heritage that can only be felt by truly experiencing the home of our ancestors. Irish Heritage − The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Foundation is making a significant cultural impact in the greater Cincinnati area. We are excited about being the major sponsor of The Celtic Festival and The American Irish Theatre Company. Other current projects being funded are: research for a book on the History of the Irish in Greater Cincinnati (later to be made into a video series), continuing to host the Irish Speakers and Performers series at , concerts at area high schools combining several generations of singers and musicians, a concert series at Memorial Hall featuring world-renowned recording artists and Broadway stars, and the FSoSP Glee Club’s second music CD Since its founding, The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick has been providing relief for American, Irish, and many others in need, regardless of their country of origin. One-hundred percent of our donor’s gifts go directly to the support of those in need in our community, under-funded soup kitchens, scholarships, or our sponsorship of events such as the annual Celtic Festival, concerts, speaker’s series (authors, poets, academics), The American Irish Theatre Company, or a variety of other events that best reflect Irish culture.

Our History: On March 17, 1771 and March 17, 1784, The Society of The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick for the Relief of Immigrant Irish was founded in Philadelphia and New York respectively. For over two centuries, both Philadelphia and New York have annually granted sums of money for the betterment of the Irish in their communities, giving to universities hospitals and individual scholarships. In 1868, the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in Cincinnati was founded, and thus our involvement began in the spirit of the American Irish.

12 In 2002, the Trustees and Officers of The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in Cincinnati formed The FSoSP Foundation to focus on the promotion of Irish culture, collegiate scholarships for study abroad, and feeding the hungry in our community. Through special fund-raising events, grants and private donations, The FSoSP Foundation in Cincinnati is able to support these causes as others have done for their neighbors for over two-hundred years. Today, much about our land and people has changed, but one thing has remained the same – the Irish spirit and its dedication to the betterment of community. Become a Member: Become a member of The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Foundation today and begin supporting the needs of those in our community and the Irish heritage you value. We welcome any means of support, and invite you to participate in one or all of our upcoming events. For a complete listing of events or for more information on how you can become a voting member of FSoSP, visit us online at: www.fsspfoundation.org All donations are 100% tax deductible. We ask that you remember us in your estate planning. Please write or email us for more information.

The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Foundation is incorporated in the state of Ohio as a 501(c) 3 charitable organization.

Join us in promoting the Spirit of the Irish Tradition.... Giving back to the communities in which we live and work.

P.O. Box 9085 Cincinnati, Ohio 45209 (513) 241-8020

13 8th Annual Charity Golf Outing June 7th, 2010 Maketewah Country Club

Proceeds will benefit two wonderful but under-funded organizations in our community dedicated to feeding the hungry:  St. Francis Seraph in Over-the-Rhine  Geiger House in Walnut Hills

Lunch: 11:30 AM Shotgun Start: 12:30 PM Format: 4 person 2 Best Ball Dinner: 7:00 PM

Costs: Make checks payable to: Golf & Dinner/Cocktails: $275 The Friendly Sons of Dinner/Cocktail Hour Only: $75 St. Patrick Foundation

Please mail checks and registration to: The Friendly Sons Golf Outing c/o Tom Geoppinger 2780 Highland Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45212

Email Contact: Joe Healey: [email protected] or Tom Geoppinger: [email protected]

14 Who was St. Patrick? PART II

St. Patrick prayed for those of us who’ve read his words. “I now pray,” he said, “for anyone who believes in, and fears, God who may perchance come upon this writing which Patrick, the sinner and the unlearned one, wrote in Ireland.”

So said our patron in his Confessio, with customary humility. The second of his two surviving writings, which are the earliest remaining documents written in Ireland, the Confessio recounts in Latin his capture by the Irish in Britain, years as an Irish slave, escape home to Britain, vocation, and return to Ireland as its Bishop.

“…when aged about sixteen,” St. Patrick says, “I was taken captive. I was then ignorant of the true God and, along with thousands upon thousands of others, was taken into captivity in Ireland… I was young, indeed almost a speechless boy, when I was taken captive… So at first, I was a rustic and a wanderer without any learning….” “I was like a stone lying in the deepest mire.”

The captivity has been called the defining event of St. Patrick’s whole religious outlook. “But then, when I had arrived in Ireland and was spending every day looking after flocks, I prayed frequently each day… in a day I prayed up to a hundred times and almost as many in the night. Indeed, I even remained in the woods and on the mountain to pray….

“…one night I heard a voice which said to me: ‘Well have you fasted. Very soon you are to travel to your homeland.’ And again, not long after that, I heard a revelation which said to me: ‘Behold! Your ship is prepared.’ But the ship was not nearby, but maybe two hundred miles away where I had never been and where I knew nobody. Soon after that I took flight leaving the man I had been with for six years.”

15 St. Patrick found the ship but refused the pagan rite to “suck the crew’s nipples.” They took him anyway and sailed for three days. He and the crew then wandered for 28 days through a wilderness to the point of starvation. When the pagan crew chided him for the failure of his prayers to produce food, he urged trust in God. Miraculously a herd of pigs appeared on the road and they found wild honey.

After reaching “human society” and the lapse of several more years, he endured another captivity, this one of 60 days, before, as he said, “I was again with my parents in Britain who gave me a son’s welcome.” They begged him to stay.

“And it was there,” he said, “I speak the truth, that I saw a vision of the night: a man named Victoricus [whom tradition later considered an angel] – like one from Ireland – coming with innumerable letters. He gave me one of them and I began to read what was in it: ‘The voice of the Irish.’ And at that very moment as I was reading out the letter’s opening, I thought I heard the voice of those around the wood of Foclut which is close to the Western Sea. It was if they were shouting with one voice: ‘O Holy Boy, we beg you to come again and walk among us’… And at that minute I woke up.” Some believe that Foclut is at Killala Bay, County Mayo.

That call to St. Patrick led to his training and ordination. We know not where those occurred but he does make passing reference to “brethren in Gaul.” Eventually he was called to “come to the Irish nations to preach the gospel… it is there I want to spend freely my life even until death.” “So truly it is our task,” he said, “to cast our nets and catch a great multitude…” Whether he was made Bishop before or after he went to Ireland is unclear.

As he summed up, he said “Indeed I have travelled everywhere for your sake: I have gone amid many dangers: I have gone to places beyond where anyone lived; and I have gone where no one else had ever travelled who would baptize, or who would ordain clergy, or bring the people to completion.”

16 While he served in Ireland, a charge was brought against him in Britain by certain of his superiors, relating to “something from thirty years earlier which I had admitted before I was even a deacon. Once when I was anxious and worried I hinted to my dearest friend about something I had done one day – indeed in one hour – in my youth… I do not know, God knows, if I was then fifteen years old, and I was not a believer in the true God….” St. Patrick never identifies the sin of his youth but, whether or not it was serious, nothing apparently came of the charge.

St. Patrick intimates in the Confessio that he was not married (even though some Bishops then were), when he refers to “the genuine religious chastity which I have chosen for Christ my Lord until the end of my life.” He wrote the Confessio “as an old man.” He believed that it also was near the end of the world and the second coming of Christ.

St. Patrick died on March 17, perhaps in the year 493. The graveyard of Downpatrick Cathedral on a hill in County Down claims without certainty his resting place under a large stone inscribed “Patric.”

Edmund J. Adams Historian

Sources: De Paor, St. Patrick’s World, Four Courts Press, 1996 Freeman, St. Patrick of Ireland, Simon & Schuster, 2004 O’Laughlin, Discovering St. Patrick, Paulist Press, 2005 (the source of the above translated excerpts from the Confessio)

17 Map of Ireland

18 WHERE IS IRELAND?

o latitude or longitude Can bound the Emerald Isle. You’ll find it off in Timbuktu Or down along the Nile.

Wherever mothers stoop to smooth A baby’s touseled hair And croon an Irish lullabye— Ireland is there!

Wherever men are brave and true And quick to take a stand And proud to fight, if fight they must— There is Ireland!

Wherever lad and lassie meet A merry dance to share, (Oh, echoes of the Blarney Stone!) Ireland is there!

19 Past Presidents

1868, Dr. George A. Doherty 1893, Thomas J. Cogan 1869, Dr. George A. Doherty 1894, Francis J. McCabe 1870, Dr. George A. Doherty 1895, J. R. Kinsley 1871, Dr. D. W. McCarthy 1896, Mayor John Galvin 1872, Robert Hill 1897, Thomas F. Shay 1873, Frank H. Quinn 1898, Henry J. Cain 1874, Hugh Campbell 1899, Col. Thomas M. Jenkins 1875, Wm. J. O’Neill 1900, Norman G. Kenan 1876, Dr. A. L. Carrick 1901, Si P. Egan 1877, Thomas Cullinan 1902, Samuel J. Murray 1878, Gov. Thomas L. Young 1903, Hon. Edmund J. Dempsey 1879, Judge Patrick Mallon 1904, Judge John G. O’Connell 1880, Judge James W. Fitzgerald 1905, Thomas Trevor 1881, A. J. S. Rice 1906, Charles F. Williams 1882, Capt. P. Fitzgerald 1907, John M. Manley 1883, Judge John P. Murphy 1908, John J. Gilligan 1884, R. A. McDonald 1909, Wm. A. Hopkins 1885, J. Frank Dunnie 1910, M. J. Richmond 1886, W. J. O’Neill 1911, James P. Orr 1887, A. J. Gilligan 1912, Wm. J. Williams 1888, Judge W. W. Cleary 1913, Joseph Kinneary 1889, P. R. Costello 1914, George E. Bryan 1890, Dr. J. W. Prendergast 1915, John Doyle 1891, Dr. T. W. Graydon 1916, A. C. Gilligan 1892, A. J. Conroy 1917, Peter J. McCarthy 20 Past Presidents

1918, Robert E. Sweeny 1943, Judge W. J. Dammarell 1919, Francis R. Healey 1944, Dr. Edward J. Roche 1920, John B. Dillon 1945, George E. Brown 1921, Richard A. Powell 1946, Richard T. Carroll 1922, Harry J. Gilligan 1947, Richard W. Scallan 1923, Robert J. Patton 1948, Roy C. Ahern 1924, Thomas J. O’Neill 1949, William J. Williams 1925, Thomas M. Conroy 1950, Judge Joseph P. Kinneary 1926, John H. Finn 1951, Hon. John Joyce Gilligan 1927, Judge Edward T. Dixon 1952, Thomas B. Reynolds 1928, Judge John B. Read 1953, Albert E. Heekin, Jr. 1929, Peter J. McCarthy, Jr. 1954, Robert S. Powell 1930, Neal Ahern 1955, Edward B. Sullivan 1931, Col. Thos. R. Cody 1956, John H. Finn, Jr. 1932, John L. Horgan 1957, Richard H. Ormond 1933, Harry C. Burns 1958, Albert D. Castellini 1934, Judge Jos. P. Goodenough 1959, Edward J. Gleason 1935, George W. Burns 1960, Lawrence P. McGoff 1936, Joseph L. Linehan 1961, James R. Clark, Jr. 1937, Wm. S. Sullivan 1962, Col. James P. Walsh 1938, John A. McJoynt 1963, James B. O’Donnell, Jr. 1939, Eugene A. O’Shaughnessy 1964, Lawrence H. Kyte 1940, Robert W. Hughes 1965, Charles A. Cronin 1941, Harry Nolan 1966, Edward P. Donovan 1942, Robert Isphording 1967, Joseph F. McGoff 21 Past Presidents

1968, Harry J. Gilligan 1993, James T. Fitzgerald 1969, Andrew E. Sweeny 1994, J. Gibbs MacVeigh 1970, Francis X. McCarthy 1995, P. Declan O’Sullivan 1971, Stephen M. D. Burns 1996, Thomas L. Finn 1972, Jerry A. Powell 1997, Michael J. Conaton 1973, Thomas J. Clarke 1998, Timothy D. Clarke 1974, James M. Dolan 1999, Thomas P. Tierney, Sr. 1975, Michael J. Dammarell 2000, Rev. Dr. Robert W. Croskery 1976, Robert S. Powell, Jr. 2001, Timothy A. Garry, Jr. 1977, James W. Halloran 2002, John Finn Barrett 1978, Dr. Charles M. Barrett 2003, Neil J. O’Connor, Jr. 1979, James W. Patrick Clark, Sr. 2004, Paul L. Lindsay, Jr. 1980, Robert E. Manley 2005, Michael K. Keating 1981, Thomas J. Clarke Jr., D.V.M. 2006, Tom Geoppinger 1982, Hon. William J. Keating 2007, Sean D. Donovan 1983, William V. Finn 2008, Thomas G. Cody 1984, Richard A. Castellini 2009, Douglas F. Powell 1985, E. James Roche 1986, John A. Flanagan 1987, Stephen T. MacConnell 1988, Patrick R. Carr 1989, Daniel J. McKenna 1990, Hon. John J. O’Hara 1991, Robert R. Fitzpatrick, Jr. 1992, Thomas E. Donnellon 22 Requiescat in Pace

Dr. Thomas Clarke III

Dr. Thomas John Clarke III, 72, of Cincinnati, OH, passed away on Saturday, February 13, 2010. Thomas was the 113th President of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick (‘81) and served as a Trustee in the organization for 29 years.

William J. Williams

William J. Williams, a businessman who ran, built or influenced many of Cincinnati’s business, charitable and sporting institutions, but preferred to stay out of the public eye, passed away on Sunday August 23, 2009. William was the 81st President of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick (‘49).

23 24

ay the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Traditional Irish Blessing; origin unknown, although some attribute it to St. Patrick

25 The Star Spangled Banner (National Anthem of the United States of America) Oh, say can you see, by the dawn’s early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave? Francis Scott Key

The Soldier’s Song (Irish National Anthem) We’ll sing a song, a soldier’s song. With cheering, rousing chorus. As round our blazing fires we throng. The starry heavens o’er us; Impatient for the coming fight. And as we wait in the morning’s light, Here in the silence of the night. We’ll chant a soldier’s song. Chorus Soldiers are we, whose lives are pledged to Ireland; Some have come from a land beyond the wave; Sworn to be free, no more our ancient sireland Shall shelter the despot or the slave. Tonight we man the Bearna Boaghail. In Erin’s cause, come woe or weal. ‘Mid cannon’s roar and rifle’s peal, We’ll chant a soldier’s song. Peadar O’Cearnaigh

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