Dear Old Donegal

It seems like only yesterday I sailed from out of Cork A wanderer from Erin's isle I landed in New York There wasn't a soul to greet me there A stranger on your shore But Irish luck was with me here And riches came galore And now that I'm going back again To dear old Erin's isle My friends will meet me on the pier And greet me with a smile Their faces, sure, I've almost forgot I've been so long away But me mother will introduce them all And this to me will say Shake hands with your Uncle Mike, me boy And here is your sister, Kate And there's the girl you used to swing Down by the garden gate Shake hands with all of the neighbours And kiss the colleens all You're as welcome as the flowers in May To dear old Donnegal They'll give a party when I go home They'll come from near and far They'll line the roads for miles and miles With Irish jauntin' cars The spirits'll flow and we'll be gay We'll fill your hearts with joy The piper'll play an Irish reel To greet the Yankee boy We'll dance and sing the whole night long Such fun as never seen The lads'll be decked in corduroy The colleens wearin' green There'll be thousands there that I never saw I've been so long away But me mother will introduce them all And this to me will say Shake hands with your Uncle Mike, me boy And here is your sister, Kate And there's the girl you used to swing Down by the garden gate Shake hands with all of the neighbours And kiss the colleens all You're as welcome as the flowers in May To dear old Donnegal Meet Branigan, Fannigan, Milligan, Gilligan Duffy, McCuffy, Malachy, Mahone Rafferty, Lafferty, Donnelly, Connelly Dooley, O'Hooley, Muldowney, Malone Madigan, Cadigan, Lanihan, Flanihan Fagan, O'Hagan, O'Hoolihan, Flynn Shanihan, Manihan, Fogarty, Hogarty Kelly, O'Kelly, McGuinness, McGuinn Shake hands with your Uncle Mike, me boy And here is your sister, Kate And there's the girl you used to swing Down by the garden gate Shake hands with all of the neighbours And kiss the colleens all You're as welcome as the flowers in May To dear old Donnegal