John Spillane
They lived beside the river at the turning of the tide
They lived beside the river, by the river they lived and they died
Patrick Murphy was a fisherman in the town of Passage West
With his wife and seven children he tended to his nets
In the year 1911 one moonlit night in May
With 3 companions Patrick rowed across to French’s Bay
They were fishing for a living like their fathers done before
Dreaming of the salmon all along the Mucán shore
They lived beside the river at the turning of the tide
They lived beside the river, by the river they lived and they died
Until the bailiffs boat came down the Lee, the dreaded Murricaune
They came down from Blackrock Castle with their revolvers drawn
The Murricaune were gangsters in the service of the crown
They murdered Patrick Murphy as he fished on the Mucán
In the year 2011 we gathered on the green
To remember Patrick Murphy in beautiful Toureen
For the people that remember that justice was not done
For the killing of Pat Murphy by a bullet from the bailiffs’ gun
This is my fifth time to record a John Spillane song. Sometimes we collaborate and we keep in touch along this job of journeywork. On 4th July 2015, I performed “Pat Murphy” at the Marquee in Cork. In the audience that night were Whacker and Frick Murphy, two of Patrick Murphy’s grandsons. They sailed up the River Lee from Passage West to attend the concert. Afterwards they shared stories of their Grandfathers life and times and we remembered how he had lived and died on the river. Then back aboard their boat for a moonlit voyage back to Passage West and a few pints before closing time.