Verse 1Let Erin remember the days of old,
Ere her faithless sons betray'd her;
When Malachi wore the collar of gold*,
Which he won from her proud invader;
When her kings, with standard of green unfurl'd
Led the Red-Branch Knights to danger†;-
Ere the emerald gem of the western world
Was set in the crown of a stranger.
Verse 2On Lough Neagh's bank as the fisherman strays*,
When the clear, cold eve's declining,
He sees the round towers of other days,
In the wave beneath him shining!
Thus shall memory often, in dreams sublime,
Catch a glimpse of the days that are over;
Thus, sighing, look thro' the waves of time
For the long faded glories they cover!
