Poem by Thomas Osborne Davis

Tipperary

LET Britain boast her British hosts,
  About them all right little care we;
Not British seas nor British coasts
  Can match the man of Tipperary!

Tall is his form, his heart is warm,
  His spirit light as any fairy,—
His wrath is fearful as the storm
  That sweeps the hills of Tipperary!

Lead him to fight for native land,
  His is no courage cold and wary;
The troops live not on earth would stand
  The headlong charge of Tipperary!

Yet meet him in his cabin rude,
  Or dancing with his dark-haired Mary,
You ’d swear they knew no other mood
  But mirth and love in Tipperary!

You ’re free to share his scanty meal,
  His plighted word he ’ll never vary,—
In vain they tried with gold and steel
  To shake the faith of Tipperary!

Soft is his cailin’s sunny eye,
  Her mien is mild, her step is airy,
Her heart is fond, her soul is high,—
  O, she ’s the pride of Tipperary!

Let Britain brag her motley rag;
  We ’ll lift the green more proud and airy;—
Be mine the lot to bear that flag,
  And head the men of Tipperary!

Though Britain boasts her British hosts,
  About them all right little care we,—	
Give us, to guard our native coasts,
  The matchless men of Tipperary!

1. The Boatman of Kinsale
2. The Green above the Red
3. O'Connell's Statue
4. We Must Not Fail
5. The Sack of Baltimore

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