MY rosary beads! Not hard to break
With beads so small and links so weak,
And cross so worn; thou art to me
Dearer than richest jewellery.

God’s mother used thee well and long
In the grim fight gainst sin and wrong
She leaned from heaven and held thee forth
To help her clients here on earth.

When foes wrecked Ireland’s heavenly path
And drove her Primate to his death.
Mary repaired the Rosary road
And built her bridge of beads to God.

The ladder beads in Mary’s hand
Joined Ireland to the heavenly land.
To these our faithful fathers clung,
Climbed bead by bead and rung by rung.

Their famine-wasted hands held on
When priest and Mass and hope seemed gone
O Rosary beads , O Rosary beads
To thee they cling in direst needs.

A life belt Mary to us gave
Our Rosary beads! Our souls to save.
She wants us all to go to heaven
Our faults effaced, our sins forgiven.

MICHAEL MULLIN – ‘THE BARD OF FOREMASS’
Foremass Lower, Sixmilecross, Co. Tyrone.