O’Sullivan’s Return | Irish Ballad of Exile, Hope & Tragedy
O’Sullivan’s Return — A Ballad of Homecoming and Tragedy O’Sullivan’s Return is one of the most powerful narrative ballads in the Irish tradition — a song that begins in hope and ends in heartbreak. It tells of a chieftain returning to his ancestral home in Beara , West Cork, after long years in exile. As his ship draws near the coast, he looks toward his castle with tears in his eyes, dreaming of reunion with family, clan, and country. The early verses are filled with emotion and anticipation. O’Sullivan imagines the joyful welcome awaiting him: banners shaking in his great hall, the clasp of loyal hands, and the sound of his people’s cry — “O’Sullivan abú!” — echoing across the shore. He envisions not only homecoming, but freedom: Ireland rising once again, the Norman oppressors driven out, and Desmond and all Éire restored. But the sea, so calm at day’s end, turns violent as darkness falls. A sudden storm rises — almost as if the wind itself heard his proud vow. The ship is s...