Blackrock Castle - The River and the Stars

By the Lee in fading light,
Where harbour waters run,
The old stone keeps a watch tonight
Between the stars and sun.

South-east of Cork the river widens,
Softly toward the sea,
And Blackrock Castle holds the bank
Above the River Lee.

Raised to watch the harbour road,
When sails came through the tide,
It kept a quiet guard of stone
Where Cork's old waters glide.

Not every tower is thunder,
Not every wall is war;
Some keep the lamp for homeward ships
And open heaven's door.

Blackrock Castle, by the River Lee,
Stone above the water,
Star above the quay.
Blackrock Castle, through the harbour rain,
You keep the old watch softly
And call the light again.

The city's hands remembered you,
Through charter, smoke and flame,
When fire took the old stones down,
New walls rose in your name.

Higher lines and Gothic shadow,
Courtyard, tower and stair,
The river held your mirrored face
In Cork's soft evening air.

Blackrock Castle, by the River Lee,
Stone above the water,
Star above the quay.
Blackrock Castle, through the harbour rain,
You keep the old watch softly
And call the light again.

Now the old watch turns to starlight,
Past the tide and harbour wall,
Where children ask how far it is
To worlds beyond us all.

Lenses, charts and quiet questions
Fill the rooms of stone;
The castle looks from Lee to sky,
And makes the dark feel known.

Let history stand clearly,
Let legend stay apart;
The truest light is patient
When it enters through the heart.

From river watch to open sky,
From harbour mist to flame,
Blackrock keeps a Cork memory
In stone and star and name.

So walk the water softly,
Past the trees and turning tide,
Where Marina paths and harbour light
Still gather side by side.

For Blackrock Castle is more than stone,
More than walls the guidebooks tell;
It is river, watch and wonder,
Where old Cork learns the stars as well.

Blackrock Castle, by the River Lee,
Stone above the water,
Star above the quay.
Blackrock Castle, through the harbour rain,
You keep the old watch softly
And call the light again.

Blackrock Castle, under Cork's wide sky,
River below and stars above,
Still keeping watch nearby.

River and tower, harbour and star,
Old stone knows how near we are.
By the Lee, through night and rain,
Blackrock calls the light again.

By the river and the stars,
Blackrock keeps the song.