[Intro]
Sad are the homes round Garryowen,
Since they lost their joy and pride,
And the banshee cry rings every vale,
All along that Shannonside.

That city of the ancient walls,
Unbroken treaty stone,
Undying fame surrounds your name,
Seán South from Garryowen.

[Verse]
Twas on a dreary New Year's Eve as the shades of night came down,
A lorry load of volunteers approached the border town,
There were men from Dublin and from Cork, Fermanagh and Tyrone,
And their leader was a Limerick man, Seán South from Garryowen.

And as they marched along the streets up to the barracks door,
Well, they scorned the danger they might face and their fate that lay in store,
They were fighting for old Ireland, to claim their very own,
And the foremost of that gallant band was South from Garryowen.

Ah, well, the sergeant spied their daring plan, well, he spied them through the door,
With the sten guns and the rifles pealed, a hail of death did roar,
And when that awful night was past, two men lay as cold as stone,
There was one from near the border and one from Garryowen.

Well, no more he will hear the seagull's cry, o'er the murmuring Shannon tide,
For he fell beneath that northern sky, brave O'Hanlon was by his side,
He has gone to join that gallant band of Plunkett, Pearse and Tone,
A martyr for old Ireland Seán South from Garryowen,
Another martyr for old Ireland Seán South from Garryowen.