The Family Gathering over a beautiful sunny weekend in West Cork to celebrate not just Ita’s Wedding to Jon, but also her life, her childhood in Cobh, family summers in Ballycotton, the roots of the family in Irish history, and all that makes the Standens, O’Shea’s and related families so special
BALLYCOTTON
I remember the bygone days of yore
Summer days on cliff tops, feet on stony shore
The wailing of the fog machine, loud and clear
Ships in deadly peril, the rocky coast too near
The life boat crew so brave and strong all a volunteer
Their women nervously waiting on the windy pier
I remember the bygone days of yore
Summer days on cliff tops, feet on stony shore
The house’s drive facing the windy coast
With a Georgian front and a resident ghost
The church where we prayed that the war was not lost
We remembered the dead and the lives it had cost
I remember the bygone days of yore
Summer days on cliff tops, feet on stony shore
There was lots of joy and laughter and music for everyone
Soapflakes on the pier made dancing so much fun
And singing along in the Bayview pub a chorus-not just one
We were a gang of multinationals with all for one
I remember the bygone days of yore
Summer days on cliff tops, feet on stony shore
Our fathers made fishing the purpose of their stay
And we were free roam and dive into the crashing waves
Nestled in the cliff tops we found a sandy bay
There we sunned, smoked and languished like seals at play
I remember the bygone days of yore
Summer days on cliff tops, feet on stony shore
Someone should remember those long lost days of yore
With so much life and so much hope, now nothing left to store
The fishermen long gone, their boats and nets no more
But Ballycotton proud it stands, a beacon on the shore
Oh! I can ne’er forget those bygone days of yore
Summer days on cliff tops and feet on stony shore
by Ita Standen-Raz
Dr. Ita Standen-Raz BA Hons(Oxon),MSc,ACE(Oxon),MEd Psych,D.Phil
40 Brunswick Gardens Kensington, London W8 4AL Mobile +447864051818 drstandenraz@yahoo.com
A Celebration in Cork 