Bombed Barracks

by St. Mary's NS, Arva

What once was a peaceful town,

 Changed on the 25th of September,

For the man that was constable James McLoughlin,

That was a terrible night to remember.

 

Ten men sat in a barracks,

 listening to the crackle of the fire,

thinking about the previous attacks,

they would really like to retire.

 

At 22:00 one eery night the fighting began,

Bombs were thrown and screams were heard,

They came with guns, rebel songs they sang.

Bullets and bombs were flying like a bird.

 

When morning time came 

Everybody survived

It was the end of the pain

And James McLoughlin got to retire.

Written by Holly Dobson, Tommy Duffy, Patrick Smith and Neal O’Reilly as part of Poetry as Commemoration workshops led by Frank Galligan in  St. Mary’s NS, Arva, Co. Cavan, in October 2022.