Manus O’Donnell, aged 60 years, with his sons James and Dominic O’Donnell, aged 25 and 21 years respectively, together with Dan Sharkey, aged 59 years and brother-in-law to Manus O’Donnell, left Kincasslagh Pier on the hazy evening of the 22nd of June 1922 to sail seven miles to the salmon fishing ground. When they did not return early next morning with the other fishing boats, these boats immediately went in the search of the missing crew, but only to find a few miles from the shore, floating on the waves the nets of the missing boat, and a cap and a boot belonging to one of the missing crew. The boat, broken in pieces was cast ashore a few days later.
All the vales around the Rosses
There are weary hearts today
Thinking of the four brave seamen
Who so nobly sailed away
To face the raging bellows
As they often done before
The brace O’Donnell’s and
Dan Sharkey from around
Kincasslagh shore
Never more will poor Dan Sharkey
Face again the Keadue strand
With his gallant brother Dimlick
He brought credit to the land
To the dear old land of shamrock
That land for troubles soon will cease
And God be with their wives and families
May their souls now rest in peace
Dúchas Thír Chonaill 
March 14, 2016 at 11:13 pm
Excellent to find this on Google, my mother Kate O’Donnell used to recite this poem of the loss when I was a boy in Burtonport,
LikeLike
March 25, 2016 at 9:37 pm
The version I posted isn’t complete, do you know the rest of it
LikeLike
March 28, 2017 at 9:15 pm
My Mum, (Maiden name: Helen O’Donnell), talked about this with sadness when I was a chid. Manus O’Donnell was my Mother’s Grandfather. Her father was Hugh O’Donnell, son of Manus. My sister and I were recently over in Ireland for the funeral of my Mum’s brother, Frank, and we met our Mother’s cousin, who sent us a photocopy of an Ireland’s Own article about the song. It says that the song was sung to the tune of “Shall My Soul Pass Through Old Ireland”. I would very much like to visit Kincasslagh one day.
LikeLike