The Quiet Power of "The Lismore Turkeys"

The Lismore Turkeys

A lively Munster ballad that tells the comic-turned-sad tale of a young man who meets a turkey-seller from Lismore on her way to the Dungarvan market. Full of local place names and market-day detail, it moves from flirting in Cappoquin to a sour ending when debts and deception are exposed. Songs like this survived in oral tradition and collectors' notebooks because they capture everyday rural life, local humour, and the risks of promises made on the road.

1.
One morning I chanced to go roving,
It being in the sweet month of May,
When flowers they were blooming most charming
And pleasant and blooming array.

2.
I chanced for to meet with this fair one,
Her aspects so free and so rare,
And she making her way to Dungarvan
At the very first dawn of day.

3.
She hastened her paces before me,
I told her to take her ease.
But the more I advanced to discourse her
The quicker she took to her heels.

4.
I quickly stepped up to this fair maid,
I asked her how far was she going
Or did she belong to Dungarvan,
Or where was her native home?

5.
She said: “I belong to Lismore, sir,
Some turkeys I have for sale,
And I'm going to the town of Dungarvan,
For this is our market day”.

6.
I asked her if she'd want a driver,
As her donkey was going too slow,
And she'd be in full time for Dungarvan
And her turkeys would all be sold.

7.
In sweet “Cappoquin" I embraced her
And we called for a cruiscín lán.
If I drank up a barrel of porter
This damsel she paid for all.

8.
When I found her so civil and jovial
I thought I might make her my own.
I told her I owned a large farm,
As long as the lease would hold.

9.
“Besides, I have cattle and corn,
I have money that nobody knows,
And I'll have you as snug and as warm
As if you got all in Lismore.”

10.
While Kathy and I were discoursing
She used look at me now and again.
Her apron belt she kept folding
And twisting it up in a ring.

11.
We called for another full jorum
Till Kathy and I were pleased
And we slept till the market was over
And the turkeys by and by got cheap.

12.
But as soon as our slumber was over
I told her I should retreat,
“I’ll go and consult with my master
From my farm I couldn’t be late.

13.
Besides last week I was cautioned
To pay up old arrears without fail
And I fear that he’ll give me no quarters
Without paying him out on the nail.”

14.
With tears in her eyes she reproached me
And called me a thousand rogues,
And she said that I was a deceiver
In every word that I spoke.

15.
“With flattering speeches you coaxed me
And boasting of all your stores,
But now when my hopes you have smothered
You’ll leave me to lie here alone.

16.
“The curse of the crows may await you,
You tricked me, you naughty rogue!
Or how will I go home to my father?
Or how will I face Lismore?”

17.
“I'll have you before the recorder
At Waterford Town next March,
And I'll have you hung or transported
For trespassing against the law!”

You can stream "The Lismore Turkeys" any time on Irish Folk Music on Spotify.

Discover more Irish music at Just Irish Music — featuring lyrics, videos, and the stories behind the songs.

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