The Garden of Ireland

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In the Garden of Ireland
A Tribute to Katie Taylor
© Mervyn Ennis & Tony Bardon

In the Garden of Ireland
There grows a new flower
Where once our hopes clung to the Ivy
In the days way back then
We had no flag nor anthem
Now we have both and we have Katie

In the heart of the garden
Our new flower grows
Slender and graceful and true
And now is the hour
When it's within our power
To be strong as the Nation renews

Chorus
So let's make Ireland a Garden
Where we ‘all the fruits can enjoy’
Let us turn a new leaf
Banish fear through belief
With an attitude of never say die

In the garden of Ireland
A dream has come true
Inspiring a new generation
Restoring belief and pride
To people who cried
Outpouring love and affection

In the heart of the garden
There’s a beacon of light
That shows that the dark cannot win
Is it commitment or fate
That opens Heaven's Gate
To let the Golden Dawn in

Chorus


So, let our youth stride
With spirit and with pride
Exuding character strong
Let our flag be unfurled
With pride around the world
To the strains of the Soldiers Song

Repeat first verse

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Katie Taylor

Mervyn Ennis-Lyricist

Mervyn wrote the lyrics to celebrate Katie Taylor's boxing win in the London Olympics in 2012. .He harks back to the days of another famous person from Wicklow, Charles Stewart Parnell whose symbol was the Ivy.  The win came at an important time  for Ireland we started to pick ourselves up after the ravages of the recession.

Mervyn Ennis is a native of Dublin and now lives in Saggart He has had his poetry recognised in Irish and British awards and in Irish, British, Italian and Australian publications. The form ranges from traditional to performance poems,  from reflections of a frugal, rural childhood, to working alongside the Travellers as a community worker to experiences as head social worker in the Irish Military peacekeeping arena where he  experienced at first hand the futility of war

Recorded at Contact Studios, Tallaght.  Recording Engineer and Instrumentalist Gerry Horan.  Backing Vocalist Danai Kelleher