Gerry McDonagh writes emotional tribute to Leitrim’s lost generations

Songwriter Gerry McDonagh, originally from Tawlaughtmore on the Dromod Road in Mohill, has written and composed a poignant ballad titled My Native Town Mohill. The song is a heartfelt tribute to the many Irish men and women who emigrated from Leitrim and never made it back home.

Gerry, who now lives in Lucan, Dublin, was inspired by the stories of countless people who left with heavy hearts—wishing their loved ones goodbye, never knowing they would never return.

“They were wished luck—and they were gone,” he said. “So many left their hometowns behind for good, chasing work or a new life abroad. Some never saw Ireland again.”

One such story that stayed with Gerry was that of Matthew Saddler, a young man who grew up in Mohill and tragically perished on the Titanic. Saddler, like so many others, left with hope in his heart and a future ahead of him—only to be lost to history.

The song also nods to the particularly harsh realities faced by Irish men working in construction abroad during those times. The work was often backbreaking and dangerous, with little support. Yet despite the hardships, they carried their memories of home—of Leitrim, of Mohill, and of the church upon the hill—with them wherever they went.

With My Native Town Mohill, Gerry captures the emotional landscape of emigration: the sorrow of parting, the ache of nostalgia, and the enduring love for home.

My Native Town Mohill

I am many miles away from the town where I was reared,
I relive again the good old days the happy times we shared.
Although it's many years ago my memory lingers still,
Of that little town of Mohill and the church upon the hill.

The morning I was leaving with a sad and heavy heart
My dear old parents stood on the floor saying it's sad we have to part.
They threw their arms around me saying son we love you still,
And don't forget to come back home to your native town Mohill.

The day I left my old hometown my friends I bade farewell
To think of dear old Leitrim it was then my tears they fell,
I stepped on board that liner ship to cross the Irish Sea
To live amongst all strangers in John Bull’s country.

Chorus
Oh I have travelled many miles away and my thoughts of home are still,
And I'm thinking of my native town and the church upon the hill.

Now I have lived so many years in this foreign country
Although it's rich and wealthy it's still not home to me,
I still recall my childhood days when I was young and free
The old home place the fields I roamed so much it meant to me.

But my heart remains in old Ireland the land that I love thee,
Now I sit and think of times that will come no more
Where songs were sung and stories told from the days of yore.
Fond memories of my childhood are now a distant past,
To think of dear old Leitrim good times they never last.

Chorus
Oh I have travelled many miles away and my thoughts of home are still,
And I'm thinking of my native town and the church upon the hill.

My bygone days of childhood holds good memories for me,
It seems like a lifetime since I crossed the Irish Sea.
But the years have passed and I'm growing old
My hands are feeble from work untold.

My memory is fading now to think about the past,
Good times are soon forgotten but sad times seem to last.
No more I'll fish those lakes again or ramble through the Glen,
Or sit and view the sceneries that lies around Lough Rynn.

To see again the Shannon or Glencar waterfall,
And visit Slíabh-an-Iaráinn before the Lord does call.

Chorus
Oh I have travelled many miles away and my thoughts of home are still,
And I'm thinking of my native town and the church upon the hill.

My classmates are now scattered and some are lying low,
From Saint Michael's School beneath the clay where silent breezes blow.
My parents are long dead and gone their bodies are lying still,
In their cold cold graves beneath the clay in the graveyard on the hill.

But some day I am going home but if it is God's will,
To end my days with friends and kin in my native town Mohill.
And when my weary days are done and my longing heart stands still,
I'll take my sleep forever more in the graveyard on the hill.