Name: Ballinahown
Duration: P00H02M56S
Description: The only village in Ireland completly wiped off the map by the flooding of the Liffey Valley, now known as the Poulaphouca reservoir or Blessington lakes.

Ballinahown

from The Hills Above the Valley by Barry Kinane

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The only village in Ireland completly wiped off the map by the flooding of the Liffey Valley, now known as the Poulaphouca reservoir or Blessington lakes.

lyrics

BALLINAHOWN

I lived by the river my family and me
Kept a few cattle and worked in the fields
one day bad news came from ESB
A Dammed reservoir for electricity

I remember the day my eye filled with tears
For the memories I had there over the years
As the water came closer I gathered my things
I left with my pony and trap for the hills

They flooded the valley in Ballinahown
and if you weren't quick you surely would drown
the ghosts of the village lie under the lake
and rest there for ever in a watery grave

An old stone cottage became my adobe
In Ballinastockan just up the road
I spent hard years cutting rock in the Quarry
and for the loss of my home still I am sorry

And when I look upon the lake
Its beauty eludes me I know its man made
Memories haunt me draw tears from my eyes
the day my home vanished as the water did rise

They flooded the valley in Ballinahown
and if you weren't quick you surely would drown
the ghosts of the village lie under the lake
and rest there for ever in a watery grave

credits

from The Hills Above the Valley, released May 19, 2017

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about

Barry Kinane

Singer Songwriter from Co. Wicklow Ireland.“Kinane has a rare gift of taking the stories of life and relatively recent history to weave magical musical tales that are like short stories of the highest quality. I could rave about this album for days....” Nicky Rossiter Irish music magazine ... more

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