Australian By Birth And Irish By Choice Poem by Francis Duggan

She asked me what part of Ireland do you come from anyway?
And I said west of Millstreet Town a place called Claraghatlea,
She said this place called Millstreet still rings a bell to me
My father came from Kerry a mile north of Tralee

And now I remember Millstreet I've been through there before
On the Cork side of the Kerry border not too far from Rathmore
Dad took mum and I to Ireland when I was ten or so
And we drove through your Town Millstreet almost fifty years ago.

And as we drove through Kerry the hills were brown and bare
And I marvelled at the beauty the rugged beauty there
And the fields along by the the mountains in contrast were so green
And I remember Ireland and the beauty there I've seen.

By Birth I am Australian so happen to be true
But I feel very Irish even more so than you
My accent is Australian but that doesn't mean a thing
And if I feel like singing it's an Irish song I'll sing.

I have been a grand mother ten times and four children I have bore
Since dad took me to Ireland in nineteen fifty four
And dad he is in Box Hill now he rest eternally
Far from that place he loved so well a mile north of Tralee.

And I'll go back to Ireland in not too distant day
And visit all my relatives in Kerry far away
And though I am Australian to Ireland I feel true
And I feel very Irish even more so than you.