Sheila Nee Iyer (Síle Ní Ghadhra)
Source: Where The Linnets Sings (2026)
Location: Track 22
It was by the banks of a clear flowing strame,
That first I accosted that comely young dame,
And in great confusion I did ask her name:
‘Are you Flora, Aurora, or the famed Queen of Tyre?’
She answered: ‘I’m neither; I’m Sheila Nee Iyer.’
‘Go rhyming rogue, let my flocks roam in peace
You won’t find amongst them the famed Golden Fleece.
The tresses of Helen, that goddess of Greece,
Have hanked round your heart like a doll of desire
Be off to your spéirbhean,’ said Sheila nee Iyer.
‘May the sufferings of Sisyphus fall to my share,
And may I the torments of Tantalus bear.
To the dark land of Hades, my soul fall an heir,
Without linnet in song or a note on the lyre,
If ever I prove false to you Sheila Nee Iyer.
‘Oh, had I the wealth of the Orient store
All the gems of Peru or the Mexican ore,
Or the hand of a Midas to mould o’er and o’er,
Bright bracelets of gold and of flaming sapphire,
I would robe you in splendour my Sheila nee Iyer.’