[Verse 1]
C
It was on a dreary new year's eve,
F G C
as the shades of night came down.
F C
A lorry load of volunteers,
Am F G
approached the border town.
C F C
There were men from Dublin and from Cork,
Am F G
Fermanagh and Tyrone.
C Am
And their leader was a Limerick man,
F G C
Sean South from Garryowen.
[Verse 2]
C
And as they moved along the streets,
F G C
up to the barrack door.
F C
They scorned the danger they might face,
Am F G
the fate that lay in store.
C F C
They were fighting for old Ireland’s cause,
Am F G
to claim their very own.
C Am
And the foremost of that gallant band,
F G C
was South from Garryowen.
[Verse 3]
C
But the sergeant foiled their daring plan,
F G C
he spied them through the door.
F C
Then the Sten guns and the rif-les
Am F G
a hail of death did pour.
C F C
And when that awful night was past,
Am F G
two men lay as cold as stone.
C Am
There was one from near the border,
F G C
and one from Garryowen.
[Verse 4]
C
No more he'll hear the seagull cry,
F G C
or the murmuring Shannon tide.
F C
For he fell beneath a Northern sky,
Am F G
brave Hanlon by his side.
C F C
They have gone to join that gallant band,
Am F G
of Plunkett, Pearse and Tone.
C Am
A martyr for old Ireland,
F G C
Sean South from Garryowen.