On the wind'swept Hill of Tulla

On the wind'swept Hill of Tulla, Where the Claremen place their dead, Four solemn yews stand sentinel Above a hurler's head, And from the broken north lands From Burren bleak and bare, The dirge of Thomas Daly Goes surging on through Clare. No more shall limewhite goalposts Soar tapering and tall Above the greatest goalman That ever clutched a ball. Nor yet he'll rouse the echoes Of ash in native air, Nor heed the throbbing thousands Tense with pride of Clare. But wherever Clare does battle And whoever guards the goal, Whene'er the citadel is saved The proud, the noble soul Of sterling Thomas Daly They shall recall and say "God rest you Thomas Daly On your wind'swept hill to-day". To think that never once again He'll don with lightsome air The claret-gold of Tulla Nor the blue and gold of Clare. -Perhaps they'll pray when feasts are high And healed the wounds of fight, "God rest you Thomas Daly On your wind'swept hill to-night". The years shall silver temples Of hurlers young and free Till blows the long, long whistle Of the eternal referee, Then up the hillside lonely They're borne with funeral tread, To the wind'swept Hill of Tulla Where the Claremen place their dead. Beyond this place of toil and tears Beyond this plain of woe, There is a bourne in Paradise Where all the hurlers go, And there in prime they're goaling And race across the sod And thrill our dead forefathers On the level lawns of God. On the wind'swept Hill of Tulla Within whose breast so deep With dreams of Resurrection Morn A thousand hurlers sleep, And with them Thomas Daly Four yews above his head On the wind'swept Hill of Tulla Where the Claremen place their dead. Dr. Tommy Daly was born in 1894 and resided at the square in Tulla. He died tragically on Monday the 21st September 1936. He played in right All-Ireland finals, wining five (four senior and one junior). He won his first All-Ireland medal in goal for Clare in 1914 in the Junior final. Source:- An Raithneachán, Gaelic Quarterly Review, No.3 December 1936 (National Library) Air: Down Erin's Lovely Lee or She lives beside the Anner