Last Liberty

September the 9th was the 175th anniversary of the official arrival of the potato blight to Ireland. Less than two years later over 40 ships carrying desperate refugees from the Irish Famine were backed up off the island of Grosse Isle in the mouth of the St Lawrence near Quebec in Canada. Grosse Isle was the entry point for immigrants into Canada at the time. After surviving weeks making the nightmare crossing across the Atlantic in the coffin ships, they now had to quarantine in the ships for a few more weeks because the quarantine stations on the island were already completely overrun.Some jumped ship and tried to swim ashore but were too sick, hungry and exhausted to make it. A report from a priest who came to the Island to help described the appalling scenes as he witnessed dying wretches crawling ashore begging to be blessed. Hence the chorus of this next original song "you swim and you swim". It's the story of a County Clare man aboard one of those ships. A story of one of the many terrible events that occurred as a result of Ireland's saddest time, the Great Irish Famine/Genocide. The song is dedicated to nearly 5000 Irish people buried in Grosse Isle.
Go nDéana Dia Trócaire Orthu.
Written by Enda Haran and Martin McMahon, the musicians are left to right:
Enda Haran, Mary Haran McGlennon, James Barry and Quentin Cooper. Adam Shapiro not in video plays the fiddle.
Available on The Woodmount Sessions CD or on endaharan.bandcamp.

[@seannamadra5675]

Excellent.Enda a future classic love to ye all from Mayo.

[@aion5837]

If poignancy can be sung, it's here, in this song.

[@eileennestor9274]

Fabulous very touching