Ballads of Irish chivalry By Robert Dwyer Joyce: Edited, with Annotations, by his brother P. W. Joyce |
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 | Ballads of Irish chivalry |  |
IV.
'Twas then the time when mortal strife,Steel axe to axe and knife to knife,
Was waged between the Butler line
And the strong race of Geraldine.
And Desmond was a foeman stout
In battle, siege, or foray rout;
With spur on heel and sword in hand,
Upon the borders of our land,
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And often on our hamlets swept,
As swoops the eagle from the mountain
On the young lambkins by the fountain,
And in his talons bears away
To crags remote his bleeding prey.
And many a goodly tower and town
Before his hot assaults went down;
For havoc, flame, and woeful sack,
Forever marked his vengeful track.
Yet oft we met him sword to sword,
By mountain pass and lowland ford,
And turned the tide of war again
Far through each Desmond vale and glen.
| Ballads of Irish chivalry | |