TAY We love to reflect on the days of the past, As revealed by historical tomes; On the people who lived, when the world was still vast; On their worries, their work and their homes. Retrospection creates a romantic appeal, Life may have been carefree and gay; But a query that's never been answered I feel, Is: How did they do without Tay? When St Patrick himself came to free us from sin, And place us on paths of devotion, He proved that good over evil must win, Amid scenes of religious emotion. He banished the snakes from the isle of the blest; He taught our first saints how to pray. And preached in old age with great vigour and zest. Well, how was that done without tay? There were men who could quarry and carry the stones To the masons, whose aim was perfection. They built the round towers, those spherical cones Designed for the people's protection. There were painters, musicians and writers of fame, Their work highly valued today. They ignited and fostered the cultural flame. Well, how did they work without tay? As we move through an era of seething unrest, What looks like a global upheaval, While optimists hopefully seek for the best, The pessimists only find evil. Though the prophets of doom speak of death and the tomb, In the midst of their gloom let us say, There's a blossom of hope, that is always in bloom- For, thanks be to God, WE have tay. -- The late Matt Duggan, born in 1914 in Maguiresbridge, Co. Fermanagh. His family emigrated to Scotland when he was six, but at the age of nine he was adopted by an uncle in Derrylin, Co. Fermanagh, and he finished his schooling there. Mr. Duggan was a POW in WWII, and was a postman in Derrylin for 25 years.