On Hearing Of The Death Of 'Denny The Master' Poem by Francis Duggan

The last man to have the 'Master nickname' Denny from Claraghatlea has gone
But the memories of the Masters forever will live on
And their souls are still around the place their bodies only died
And in the bogs and fields of Claraghatlea their spirits still reside.

The sad news from beyond the seas brought the old memories back
When I was young I knew the old Master men Con and Pad and Jim and Jack
The oldest family in Claraghatlea or so it has been said
And Denny the last male to carry the Master nickname in Millstreet is now dead.

Descended from the O Sullivan Beares a historic west Cork clan
The Master nickname in Claraghatlea more than a century span
To Denny's grandfather a school master the master nickname did apply
And though others of the school master's descendants live in Claraghatlea the nick name doomed to die.

The memories return to me of when I was a lad
In Summer I often crowered the hay with Denny, Con and Pad
The weather it is changeable in Ireland in July
And it's been many years ago since I was a schoolboy.

Denny the last to carry the nickname from Claraghatlea has gone
But his ghost like all of the Masters ghosts forever will live on
Whilst to the bogs and fields and meadows the Seasons come and go
In that old town land near Millstreet Town where the Cails and Finnow flow.