Clare County Library | Songs of Clare |
Clare County Library | Songs of Clare |
Sweet Kingwilliamstown |
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My bonnie boat flies light and free
While here upon a deck I stand Shall I no more gaze on that shore, |
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“This song was composed
by Daniel Buckley, who was a 3rd class passenger on board the Titanic;
he was a native of Kingwilliamstown (now Ballydesmond) in Cork. He boarded
at Queenstown and travelled steerage. As the ship began to founder,
Buckley was the one who smashed the gates separating the steerage passengers
from rescue, allowing them to go up on deck to try to be saved. Buckley
managed to get to a lifeboat and was rescued and made his way to the
U.S. He enlisted in the army and, tragically, was the last soldier from
America to be killed on the last day of World War I.” |
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