Dark Inishowen

You maidens of beauty, I am one that’s forlorn,
I carelessly wander far, far from my home,
I’m off by the moonlight and the day break of morning,
I was found in the mountain of dark Inishowen.
I strayed round a place where they call sweet Clonmany,
In search of a fair maid that I might adore,
But a fair one for to love me I could not find any,
From the Mindoran Bridge to the Gap of Mamore.
Adieu to the place where I once had a sweetheart,
But now she has left me no wonder I mourn,
But I’m off by the wild beach where the salt seas are swelling,
From Tullagh’s black rocks to the Gap of Mamore.
Distance divides us in my dreams I caress her,
For I was as happy as if I was at home,
When I think of that sweet spot the haunt of that fair one,
I am pining for her absence in dark Inishowen.
And now I am stationed in the County Fermanagh
Far from that sweet spot I may ne’er see it more,
But if ever I return it will be to marry,
And I’ll wed my wee darling in dark Inishowen.